A New Beginning
by alwayssirius
Summary: Rachel Evans was forced to move from the US to London and attend Hogwarts. What will happen when she starts school there? Will she be charmed by the Marauders or will she ignore them? And what of her mother’s mysterious death? Set in 6th year. SBOC, AU
1. Meeting the Marauders

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter :( I do wonder how Mrs. Rowling envisioned the marauder era like though

This is just something I wrote and wondered what people thought. . .

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"Lily, I don't see Platform 9 3/4, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?" Rachel asked her sister.

"Are all Americans as silly as you are? Of course it's not a mistake, just follow me," Lily laughed as she led Rachel through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

_Everything happened so quickly, it was strange. _Rachel thought about what she had found out over the summer as she followed Lily. _She and Lily were half sisters; they have the same father, Rick. He had met Rachel's mother in the United States but abandoned her after she became pregnant. He didn't mind that she was a witch but he didn't want a child. He moved to London, which is where he met Lily's mom and they got married. Meanwhile Rachel and her mom, Natalia, had a happy life in California, until the unthinkable happened. Last school year, Rachel's fifth, she went home to find her mom dead. They said she died in her sleep from an unknown cause, but Rachel suspected that they were hiding something from her._

_After the funeral, Rachel was forced to go live with her father and his family in London. She found out she had a half sister, Lily, who happened to be a muggle born witch. She also had a stepsister, Petunia, who was absolutely horrible to her and Lily because they were witches. And now she was off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where she knew no one other than Lily. It was hard for Rachel to lose her mom, move to London, and start a new school all in one summer, but this was a new beginning and she was determined to make the most of it._

"I don't see any of my friends, but we can go look for them later. Let's just try to get an empty compartment," Lily said as they struggled to get their trunks on the train.

"These are so heavy!" Rachel groaned as she tried without success to lift her trunk.

"Need help?" came a voice behind her. She turned to see who was talking and found herself facing three boys. The one on the right had brown hair and kind eyes (_like my mom's, _Rachel thought sadly). The boy in the middle had messy black hair and a mischievous grin. Her eyes lingered a second longer on the last boy; she had to admit, he was extremely good looking, with grey eyes and dark hair falling elegantly about his handsome face. When she noticed that he was looking at her too she quickly turned away, blushing.

Sirius examined the girl standing next to Lily; he had never seen her before, he would have remembered if he had. She made a striking impression in her dark jeans and forest green shirt, with red locks falling on her shoulders and down her back.

"Thinking about asking her out?" Remus mouthed to Sirius, who only shrugged.

He wanted to get to know this girl before he asked her out. Sirius was aware that everyone thought he was a playboy (though he wasn't sure where they got such an idea since he rarely went out with anyone) but he was the complete opposite. He knew how to respect women, unlike his father and brother, and wouldn't go out with anyone for the heck of it.

"No Potter, we don't need any help from _you_," Lily told the boy in the middle.

Rachel sighed, "C'mon Lily, just let him help you. How else are you going to get it up?"

"Remus, would you please help me?" Lily asked the boy on the right sweetly, ignoring the other boy's hurt look.

"Sure," said Remus as he lifted her trunk.

"I'll get yours," the boy on the left told Rachel.

"Thanks," Rachel said. They all walked onto the train dragging their trunks behind them; Lily was ignoring the boys. They looked for an empty compartment but couldn't find one until they reached the end.

"We're going to have to share," the boy with the messy hair said.

"Find your own," Lily told him.

"But they're all full. This is the only one left."

"Too bad." Lily's dislike of the messy-haired boy was evident.

"Lily," Rachel began, "don't be that way."

"Fine, stay," Lily said grudgingly. They all took a seat.

"By the way, I'm Sirius Black," the grey-eyed boy introduced himself.

"I'm James Potter," the boy with the messy hair said.

"And I'm Remus Lupin," the last boy said.

"I'm Rachel Evans."

"Evans?" James asked.

"Yeah, we're half sisters," Rachel said, she didn't want to go into details.

"No way! Sisters? " James looked shocked.

"Yes Potter, sisters," Lily said annoyed.

"Well, you both do have red hair," Remus said, trying to look for similarities.

"But other than that, they don't look alike," Sirius said.

The boys were looking from her to Lily. Both girls did have red hair, but Lily's was straight and Rachel's was curly. They also had the same almond shaped eyes, but again, Lily's were green and Rachel's were an incredibly dark brown. Rachel felt very uncomfortable at being scrutinized, especially by Sirius. Lily paid no attention to them; she seemed to be good at that.

Lily slapped her forehead and scrambled up. "Rachel, I just remembered that I have to go to a prefect's meeting!"

"I forgot about that!" Remus got up too.

"I'm going to have to leave you with these two idiots for a while, I'm really sorry. I'll try to hurry," Lily apologized.

"Idiots? That's a tad heartless Evans." Sirius feigned a hurt look. Lily left without another word. Remus followed.

Rachel was uneasy about being left alone with people she didn't know, and it didn't help that she was so attracted to Sirius.

"So you're the infamous marauders?" Rachel asked, wanting to break the silence.

"That's us, the rebel geniuses," James said proudly.

"Lily said there were four of you, but I only met three."

"Peter Pettigrew was the fourth one, but we caught him hanging out with some Slytherins so we ditched him," Sirius explained.

"Oh, right," Rachel said, remembering Lily's explanation on house rivalries and how Slytherin produced dark wizards.

"You weren't here last year, were you?" Sirius asked Rachel.

"No, I lived in California. I went to Starlight Academy but I transferred over here this year. What are prefects?" Rachel asked, wanting to steer the subject away from the question she knew would eventually come up.

"They're just students who . . . follow the rules and make everyone else follow them too." James tried to explain.

"Oh, we had something like that at our school but we just called them office aides because they'd help the office keep order in the school."

"Don't tell me you were one of them," Sirius said.

Rachel laughed, "Yeah right! I got in way too much trouble to ever be an aide."

"You're kidding?" James asked.

"Nope, just because I'm Lily's sister doesn't mean I like to follow the rules like she does," Rachel grinned.

"A fellow miscreant, I'm surprised. What kind of things would you do?" Sirius asked.

"Umm, mostly pranks. But we'd go on little adventures too. It was three of us, we were awesome," Rachel reminisced.

"That's how we are too, and not only are we popular, but we pretty much run the school," James bragged.

"A bit full of yourself, aren't you?" Rachel said.

"Prongs is always like that, don't mind him," Sirius interjected.

"Lily told me both of you are the same; 'both arrogant gits' were her exact words."

"She talks about us? Was any of it good?" James asked eagerly.

"Umm, no. Sorry."

"It figures, Lily isn't very fond of us," Sirius explained.

"I couldn't tell," Rachel said caustically, then turned to James. "So is Prongs your nickname?"

"Yeah, we all have nicknames. I'm Prongs, Sirius is Padfoot, and Remus is Moony. Peter was Wormtail but he's not important anymore," James explained.

"Interesting. Is there a reason behind the names or are they just random?"

James looked at Sirius and feigned caution. "Do you think we should trust her?"

Sirius pretended to think for a second, "I don't know, I'm pretty sure it's huge compared to anything she's done," he matched James' expression. Rachel looked confused.

"We're only joking, like I said, you're a fellow miscreant, of course we can trust you," Sirius said, a grin spreading over his face.

"Rachel- I can't call you Evans too so do you mind if we call you Rachel? Ok- anyway, the reason is because I'm an unregistered Animagus, and Sirius is too."

Rachel looked surprised at first, but then she grinned. "Don't look so proud of yourself James, I am too." Their mouths fell open.

"You're lying," Sirius said, looking impressed.

"No, we, my friends and I, figured out how to do it fourth year, which's how we managed to sneak out. I turn into a fairy."

"You beat us; we only did it last year. But you turn into a fairy?" Sirius snickered.

"I needed to be something small so I could fit where my friends couldn't!" Rachel defended herself.

"I'm kidding, that's, er, very cool," Sirius assured her.

"What do you transform into?" she asked the two boys.

"I'm a dog and Prongs is a stag."

"Ah, so that explains your names. What about Remus?"

"I've been thinking," James conveniently cut in, "if you stick with Evans and her friends, you'll get really bored."

"I was afraid of that," Rachel sighed.

"Why don't you join us then?" James asked.

"That's a great idea, we could use another Animagus," Sirius added.

"I don't know. What would Lily do if we suddenly became friends? She really doesn't like you."

"I'm hurt," James teased, "but it's up to you. You can either have fun this year or-"

"Ok, I'm in," Rachel said without hesitation.

"Welcome to the group," Sirius shook her hand, then James did.

"I see you have a broom. Do you play Quidditch?" James asked.

"Yeah, I play Chaser but I'm also a decent Seeker," Rachel said.

"Prongs is a Seeker and I'm a Chaser too! You'll fit right in with us," Sirius told her.

"Unless . . . which house are you in?" James asked.

"Gryffindor, I was sorted over the summer when I had my meeting with Professor Dumbledore," she explained.

"Perfect," Sirius grinned.

The compartment door opened and Lily and Remus walked in.

"I'm sorry I had to leave you with these two," Lily apologized.

"It was no problem. They're actually kind of nice," Rachel told her.

"That's because you don't know them," Lily said.

"She will soon, she's joined our group," Sirius announced.

Lily rounded on Rachel, "what?!"

"Oh Lily, please don't be mad. It's just that they're like me and we get along, and they're . . . well, you understand, don't you?"

Lily sighed. "I suppose. That's what I get for leaving you alone with them. But don't expect me to be their friend too."

"Come on, Evans!" James pressed.

"Ok," Rachel agreed.

"I'm going to find Julie and Melody. These three can show you where to go once we get to the school. See you later." She left.

"So, these two convinced you to join us?" Remus asked with a knowing smile.

"They can be quite charming," Rachel joked.

"Why didn't Lily ever tell us she had a half sister?" Remus asked Rachel.

"That would be because neither of us knew about each other. It's really a long story."

"We have time; it's a long train ride," Sirius said.

Rachel reluctantly consented; she told them her whole story. She was surprised at how much better she felt after talking about it.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was a long story," James said.

Remus shot him a dirty look for being so insensitive. "It must have been hard for you to lose her, not to mention moving all the way over here," Remus sympathized.

"Yeah, it was. But it's getting better already. Lily and her mom are really nice."

"Lily and her mom are nice . . . you didn't add your dad in that sentence," commented Sirius.

Rachel looked at him; it's almost as if he knew. "That's because he's not nice at all."

"I'm sorry. My dad is the same way," Sirius said.

"Then you must be miserable at home," Rachel muttered.

"Actually, I am," Sirius said quietly.

James and Remus glanced at each other; they felt like they were intruding.

"I should change into my robes now, we're almost there right?" Rachel asked.

"I think so. We'll wait outside while you change," Remus offered. Once they walked out Rachel dressed as quickly as she could. _These robe things are so weird! _Rachel thought. She went to open the compartment door.

"Hey you guys can-" she stopped in mid sentence. James and Sirius had their wands out and were pointing them at Severus Snape. Remus was just standing there not sure what to do.

"Hey Rachel, why don't you join us on our first prank of the year?" James asked.

"What are you two doing?" she asked.

"Just having a little fun with Snivellus," Sirius answered.

"You'd better not hurt him," Rachel warned them, catching on to what they were up to.

"Or what?" Sirius challenged, keeping a watchful eye on Snape.

"Or I'll hex you," Rachel threatened as she pulled out her wand. Sirius and James laughed. Snape looked from Rachel to the boys to his wand on the floor. They were standing in silence, a strong tension in the air.

"Let's go change, we're almost there," Remus said as he pulled James and Sirius into the compartment and closed the door. Rachel looked at Snape.

"You didn't tell me you didn't get along with them," Rachel said.

"You didn't tell me you were their friend," countered Snape.

"I just met them. They won't bother you again when I'm around, as long as you don't do anything to them," Rachel assured him.

"I don't need your protection Ray. But remember what I told you before we came here."

"How can I forget?"

"I'll see you around," Snape said, walking away.

Rachel stood, remembering what Severus told her before they left for school. '_We can't hang out at school Ray, it's just not a good idea.'_ When Rachel had asked him why they couldn't, he wouldn't give her a straight answer.

Remus opened the compartment door to let Rachel in once they had finished changing. Sirius and James didn't look very happy.

"Part of joining us is going along with what we do, or at least not getting in our way," Sirius said angrily.

"I'm not going to just stand by and watch you guys hurt people! If that's your idea of a prank than I'm out! Lily was right," she said to James. "And you wonder why she won't give you the time of day."

That got James' attention. "You think- you think Evans would go out with me if I stopped hexing people?"

"Among other things, yes," Rachel answered.

"Don't tell me you're buying into this Prongs," Sirius said.

"I reckon she's right. We act like idiots." James told his friend after some thought.

"You're going to listen to her? You're going to change yourself for a girl?" Sirius asked, outraged.

"You'll understand once you fancy someone Padfoot," James said quietly.

"I'll never change for a girl," Sirius said stubbornly, then he turned to Rachel and added, "this is all your fault."

"You're mad because I stopped you from hurting an innocent person? I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be honourable and whatnot."

"Snape isn't innocent! And-"

"Stop you two. Rachel is right Padfoot. Just drop it." Remus interrupted. Sirius was furious.

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This first chapter is really long, I'm sorry! I just needed to introduce some things and yeah, but I hope you like it! Please review, this is my first fanfic! 


	2. Quidditch and Midnight Strolls

The next chapter is up, hope you like it!

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**"**Why are they all staring at me like they hate me?" Rachel asked the guys as they sat eating dinner in the Great Hall. Remus and James followed her gaze to a group of girls at the other end of the Gryffindor table.

"Because they probably do," James answered simply.

"They're probably just mad that it hasn't even been a day and you're already our friend," Remus explained. Rachel still looked confused so he added, "they all fancy Padfoot."

"And they're jealous? But Sirius hates me."

"They don't know that," James said and, seeing the look on Remus' face, added, "but he doesn't hate you, he's just a bit upset."

'A bit upset' was an understatement. Though Sirius and Rachel were always around each other because of James and Remus, they weren't exactly friends. Sirius resented that she was changing the group and Rachel didn't like that he still wanted to go around hexing people. They were always at each other's throats though Lily, James, and Remus suspected that it was because they fancied each other. Sirius had even admitted that Rachel was rather pretty after James forced it out of him.

"But you've never thought any girl was beyond 'decent' and you think Belle is pretty! That's something Padfoot, you should ask her out," James said.

"She just doesn't look like girls from around here; she has an exotic look to her is all. And no I won't ask her out, she's absolutely infuriating!"

"The reason she looks a little different is because she's half Spanish, and for someone you find so infuriating you talk about her an awful lot," Remus smirked.

It was the last Friday of September and Rachel was nervous. She, James, and Sirius were trying out for the Quidditch team in less than an hour. She could hardly eat her dinner.

"You might have been good back home," Sirius told Rachel with a malicious smile on his face, "but people are better here. Try not to be too disappointed when you don't make it."

Truth be told, this made Rachel more nervous than she already was, but there was no way she was going to give Sirius the satisfaction of knowing that he got to her.

"We'll see what you have to say when I take your spot," she shot at him.

"You obviously haven't seen me fly. If you had, you would know there's no way that's happening."

"And you haven't seen me fly so you can't talk."

"I can a-"

"All right! Can't you two ever give it a rest?" James snapped.

"He starts it!"

"She starts it!" James and Remus only shook their heads.

"Let's just get down to the pitch," James said grouchily.

The tryouts weren't as bad as Sirius made them out to be; James tried out as Seeker and Sirius and Rachel as Chasers. Though a great number of people tried out, it didn't take long for Mendez, the captain, to choose the team. The three chasers were himself, Rachel, and Sirius; James made it as Seeker; Jeremy Lucero and Aaron Wood were the Beaters; and Kerry Anderson was the Keeper.

A couple of weeks passed since the tryouts and the arguing pair hadn't gotten any better. They worked and got along perfectly fine in Quidditch, so James and Remus figured they would warm up to each other. They were wrong. As practice ended on a Thursday night, James, Sirius, and Rachel entered the almost empty common room and went to sit by Remus, Lily, Julie, and Melody who were studying. (They were two of the girls that Lily and Rachel shared their dormitory with. All four girls were good friends even though Rachel was usually with the guys)

"I'm too tired to study," Sirius announced.

"Me too," James and Rachel agreed.

"It's a good thing no one told you to then," Julie snapped.

"Someone's a little grouchy," James muttered.

"Sorry, I guess all this studying is getting to me," Julie apologized.

"I have an idea," Lily said excitedly. "Why don't we play truth or dare?"

The others looked from the pile of books on the table to Lily and decided that any game was better than homework. After about fifteen minutes, they realized why Lily had chosen that game. She turned out to be very good at choosing dares for other people. When it was her turn again she turned to Sirius.

"Sirius, truth or dare?"

"Obviously dare."

"I dare you to kiss Rachel, but you have to make it romantic."

"Ha! Padfoot doesn't have a romantic bone in his body!" James chortled.

"Lily, you can't-" Rachel began.

"Sorry Ray but I had to get you back for making me eat those cockroach clusters," Lily said somewhat apologetically.

Rachel and Sirius scowled at her.

"You're kidding right?" Sirius asked.

"Sorry mate, you have to do it. You know the rules."

Grudgingly, Sirius went to sit by Rachel. His glare was gone and he softened his expression when he looked at her. He stroked her cheek, letting his hand travel to the back of her head, drawing it closer to his, their faces within inches of each other. Her heart began racing, a blush crawling up her neck and into her cheeks. He held her gaze for a moment, then brought his lips to hers. She could feel her face burning, her heart pounding, all thought escaped her mind for a glorious second. . . and then it stopped. Her eyes were closed but she could still feel his breath on her lips, his face a millimetre away from hers.

When she didn't pull away, he leaned in for another kiss. He couldn't think straight, it didn't occur to him what the others watching might think or say. No other girl had ever made him feel the way he was feeling now. Her warm lips, her smell. . . he didn't want the moment to end, but he forced himself to pull away after what felt like hours.

It took Rachel a second to remember herself, but when she did she pretended to yawn. "Well, this was fun and all but I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

"I should get to bed too," Lily said, wanting to talk to Rachel. The other girls joined them.

"So what was that all about?" Melody asked Rachel with a smirk, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Nothing, it was just the dare Lily gave Black," Rachel answered, making herself comfortable. She avoided meeting anyone's eyes.

"It didn't look like nothing," Julie said.

"I assure you, it was. You actually think I _like_ Black?"

"He's not that bad once you get to know him," Lily told her.

"Are you sure this isn't James you're talking about?" Rachel smirked back.

"Of course not, but he has changed too. He's actually tolerable now. But Sirius is the same way and I don't think he hates you as much as he claims to, just like you don't. He's a good guy, just give him a chance."

"Give him a chance? I don't like him and he doesn't like me. We can't stand each other and that's that."

"Didn't seem that way tonight," Lily mumbled as she closed her hangings and drifted off to sleep.

It had been a long day and Sirius couldn't sleep. He decided to go for a walk around the castle. Thoughts of everything that had happened during the day flooded his mind. The letter from his mother warning him to stay away from his "filthy half blood and blood traitor friends"; the big Quidditch match against Slytherin on Sunday; his never ending homework load; Rachel, her laugh, her smile, her beauty, her nerve, her kiss . . .

Sirius rounded the corner and ran into someone.

"Ouch!" came Rachel's voice as she was knocked over into a suit of armour that fell with a loud crash. Sirius held his hand out to help her up.

"Evans? What are you-" he stopped when he saw her eyes. They were red and swollen; she had been crying.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" he asked.

He had used her name. "Nothing, I just couldn't sleep. Let's get out of here before-" too late.

"Black and Evans! What in Merlin's beard are you two doing out of bed in the middle of the night?" Professor McGonagall whispered furiously.

"We couldn't sleep professor-" Sirius tried to explain.

"No excuses Black, I am through with you always breaking the rules. I suspect Potter is hiding somewhere?"

"No professor," Rachel answered.

"Very well then. Detention, one week, and no Hogsmeade trip on Saturday."

"Professor, it's the first trip of the year!" Sirius exclaimed.

"You should have thought about that before you wandered around after hours doing who knows what. Now off to Gryffindor Tower. As a matter of fact, I'll walk you there."

Sirius' curiosity as to what Rachel had been crying about surpassed his anger at their punishment, but he didn't dare say anything in front of McGonagall. He was hoping that they would be able to talk in the common room, but McGonagall waited to make sure they went up to their dormitories.

Rachel had a restless sleep. On top of everything else that was bothering her she now had Sirius on her mind. He seemed genuinely concerned about her. The Sirius she saw tonight was nothing like the arrogant, immature, obnoxious, guy she had known for the last month or so. Lily's words came back to her: '_He's a good guy if you give him a chance.'_ Maybe she was right. . .

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Thanx hpfan4ever for your review, it's really helpful. About them telling her their secret, I totally agree but it just kinda fit with the rest of the story so ya. I'm not sure where the rest of the story will go but you were pretty dead on where it's headed. 


	3. Meeting Mr Stanton

Thanks for the reviews! Peter isn't quite gone yet so no worries :)

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"Good morning Lily, Julie, Melody," Rachel greeted as she and the guys sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Good morning," the girls replied.

In between bites of her pancakes, Rachel kept sneaking glances at Sirius. She was curious to know if they had gone back to hating each other or if things changed, but she didn't have a chance to find out because someone tapped her shoulder. She turned to see who it was and found herself face to face with one of the best looking guys at the school. He had sandy blonde hair and eyes the colour of the sky; his tanned body was lean and muscular. Rachel recognized him as the seventh year Ravenclaw girls were always giggling about.

"Rachel, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah, sure," Rachel said, taking his hand to help her up and avoiding making eye contact with her friends.

"I'm Ryan, by the way," he introduced himself as they walked out of the Great Hall. Rachel could feel the glares of the jealous girls as she walked by the house tables.

"I know. I just wasn't aware that you knew who I was."

"Everyone knows who you are, and it's not just because you're friends with Black and Potter," he grinned.

Rachel accepted the compliment with a smile. They had reached the marble staircase.

"I saw you practicing the other day. You're a great player," Ryan continued, making small talk.

"Thank you, but it's really the team that makes me look good."

"I think it's the other way around," he said, watching her intently.

Rachel blushed. "You're a good player too, one of the best Keepers I've seen."

"Do you think I'm good enough to keep you from scoring?"

"We'll find out when we play against you."

"I suppose we will. The reason I wanted to talk to you is because I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?" Suave.

Rachel blushed again. "I'm really sorry Ryan, I would love to but I have detention."

Ryan laughed, "You're always getting in trouble, what did you do this time?"

"McGonagall caught me walking around the castle after hours." She figured that getting caught with Sirius would seem improper, so she didn't mention it.

"If I had caught you I would have let you go," Ryan flirted as they walked back to the Great Hall.

"I'll be sure to run into you next time then," she said with a smile as she turned to sit down.

He grabbed her hand and gently turned her around to face him. His eyes found hers; something about those clear, blue eyes made her breath catch in her throat.

"I know you couldn't go with me this time, but maybe you can next time?"

"Maybe," why was she whispering? Her voice gained strength and she added with a grin, "if I don't get detention again."

"I hope you don't," he said, walking away to the Ravenclaw table.

"Quite the flirt isn't he?" James said darkly. Rachel didn't respond.

"What did he want?" Remus asked.

"Just to know if I would go to Hogsmeade with him, but I have detention so I can't."

"That git wants to go out with you? You can do better," James told Rachel.

"You're the only one who thinks he's a git, Potter. As Head Boy and Captain of the Quidditch team, most girls would be thrilled to go out with him," Lily said.

"I thought it was Padfoot who girls would die to go out with?" James asked, puzzled. Rachel snuck a glance at Sirius who was sitting quietly, apparently lost in thought.

He was relieved Rachel turned him down, but what if she did like Stanton? Would she have said yes if she didn't have detention?

"It's both of them. Some girls fancy Sirius, some fancy Ryan," Melody said matter-of-factly. "And now they're all going to hate you Ray because one fancies you and you're always around the other."

"Actually, both fancy you," Lily whispered mischievously low enough for only Rachel to hear. She shot Lily a look that silenced her.

"I can't believe you turned him down," Julie said, looking somewhat dazed.

"I have detention, I couldn't go," Rachel said.

Sirius finally asked the question he was dying to know. "Would you have gone with him if you didn't have detention?"

"No," she answered honestly. She admitted to herself that she was starting to like Sirius; and maybe, just maybe, he liked her too.

A wide smile spread across his face. "By the way, we have to serve our first detention today at nine. McGonagall is letting us go to practice."

"How nice of her," Rachel muttered.

"This is a first," Lily mused, "you two are actually getting along."

"Let's see how long it lasts," Remus said.

Rachel and Sirius had been cleaning for an hour and were nearly done. The awkward silence was occasionally broken by one of them making small talk, until Sirius asked the question that was burning inside him.

"Evans?" he asked timidly.

"Yeah?" Rachel answered, not turning from the trophy she was cleaning.

"The night we got detention, why were you crying?"

"I wasn't crying Black," she answered, still not turning to him.

"Yes you were, I saw you."

Rachel finally put her cleaning rag down and looked at him. She could see compassion in his eyes and for a second she thought about telling him, but reality kicked in. This was Sirius Black, the same Sirius Black who had spent the first month or so fighting with her, the same Sirius Black who didn't care about anyone but himself. Then again, ever since the kiss things seemed different between them, they didn't fight anymore, maybe he wasn't a bad guy after all, maybe she could trust him?

"I know we don't always get along, but it doesn't mean you can't trust me, or that I don't care," Sirius added as if he had read her mind.

Rachel sighed and wondered if she would regret this later. "That night we got caught was my mom's birthday."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea," Sirius didn't know what to say or do. This was Remus' area of expertise; still, he was willing to try. "If you don't mind talking about it, what was she like?"

Rachel smiled as she remembered her mother. "She was the most amazing person you could ever meet. She was beautiful and was always smiling; just being around her would brighten up your day. And she could make anyone laugh; she was hilarious. She was the type of person you couldn't stay mad at, she was that delightful, and if she had any enemies it was out of jealousy. She was a pureblood, from Spain, but she didn't believe she was better than anyone else. She was great, you would have liked her if you had met her."

"She sounds like she was a wonderful person," Sirius said.

"She was. It just sucks knowing that I'll never see her again," Rachel said, her eyes tearing up. Sirius pulled her to him and held her until she stopped crying.

"Thanks for listening Sirius."

"My friends call me Padfoot," Sirius said, extending his friendship.

"Thank you Padfoot."

"No problem Rachel."

"And my friends call me Belle."

"Belle . . . where did you get that from?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, my friends from Starlight chose it. I don't know if you've ever watched Peter Pan but there's a fairy named Tinker Bell in it," Rachel explained.

"I'll have to watch it sometime," Sirius said as he finished cleaning the last trophy.

The rest of the week flew by. The hours that Rachel and Sirius spent together in detention helped them grow very close; they talked about everything. Sirius was glad to be able to talk to her so openly; it was different than when he was with the guys. He loved the way that they could be having a deep conversation one minute and be laughing and joking around the next. Sirius couldn't believe he'd spent a month hating her instead of getting to know her. As for James and Remus, they were glad that their two friends were getting along because it made their pranks and monthly adventures more enjoyable than when they were always fighting.

Unfortunately for Sirius, Ryan was still around. He would talk to Rachel when he could, like after Gryffindor beat Hufflepuff in Quidditch. Sirius hated to see him talk to her, but there wasn't really anything he could do other than hex him and that was out of the question if he wanted to stay on good terms with Rachel.

As October turned into November, things took a strange twist. It was common knowledge that Lily Evans detested James Potter; that's why people started wondering why they were getting along all of a sudden. Lily actually seemed to _like _Potter, not just tolerate him. To top things off, Remus, who had never shown interest in any girl, admitted to Rachel one day that he had liked Melody for about a year or two now; that was a shock. The only thing that didn't come as a surprise to most people is that Sirius took the best looking girl in their year (they weren't officially going out, but people knew it was only a matter of time). Some girls weren't very pleased about it though; "She isn't even pretty! Why would Sirius fall for a girl like _that_?" they would whisper behind Rachel's back.

Remus and James kept insisting that Sirius make a move, but he wanted to take it slow for once. He didn't want what he had with Rachel to end up like it had with other girls. Besides, he knew Rachel wouldn't go out with Ryan, or anyone else. It was a sort of unspoken agreement that she would wait for him.

"I'm going to ask her out," Sirius told James and Remus in the dormitory Sunday evening.

"About time," James said.

"You'd better ask her out before Stanton does," Remus warned.

"She won't go with him even if he does ask her out first," Sirius said with certainty.

"How do you know that?" Remus asked.

"Because she knows I'm going to ask her out." He turned to James, "how are things with you and Evans?"

"Good. We're only friends though. That advice Belle gave me is really working."

"That's great. By the way, I asked her to come up here," Sirius told the other two.

"Who? Belle?" James asked.

"I hope you aren't saying anything bad about me," Rachel smiled as she walked in. James and Remus stood up.

"Not at all," said James, "just talking about how much Padfoot fancies y-"

"We were just on our way out," Remus cut in as he pushed James out the door.

Rachel looked confused. "That was weird."

"Yeah, I know. Come, sit here," he motioned to the space on the bed next to him. Rachel sat.

"What's up?" she asked cheerfully.

"Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me this coming weekend?" he asked confidently.

"I think you already know the answer to that," she beamed as she looked into his warm, grey eyes.

"I'm guessing yes," he whispered.

"Yeah, I can't wait. But I'd better get going, we shouldn't be alone up here." Rachel told Sirius. She gave him a small kiss on the cheek before walking out the door.

When she reached her dormitory, she found Lily, Melody, and Julie sitting on the floor talking; she went to join them. Fiona, the other girl who shared their dormitory, was sitting not too far away with her best friend Anna. Those two girls were trouble.

"Where were you?" Julie asked.

"Talking to Padfoot," Rachel grinned.

"Spill. What happened?" Melody asked excitedly.

Lily flashed Rachel a warning look, she knew Fiona and Anna were listening. Julie caught on.

"Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?" she spat at the girls. They glared at Julie but turned and acted like they weren't listening. Rachel noticed but went on anyway.

"He asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him!"

"I knew you didn't hate him," Lily teased.

"At first I didn't like him, but I've changed my mind about him."

"Don't act like you disliked him when you first met him on the train, you were practically drooling over him!" Lily laughed.

"Was not!" Rachel giggled, throwing her pillow at Lily.

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	4. Perfect Doesn't Last Forever

This chapter is kinda short, sorry. But I hope you like it!

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Rachel was up early the next morning; she was having trouble sleeping so she went down to the common room so she wouldn't wake anyone. When she got there, she found Sirius sitting in an armchair staring at the fire.

"Guess I'm not the only one who couldn't sleep," Rachel whispered in his ear. He turned to look at her.

"I didn't hear you coming," he said, "care to join me?" Rachel sat next to him.

"Everything seems too perfect right now," Sirius contemplated aloud. "I mean, Quidditch and school are great, my parents haven't bothered me with stupid letters for a while now, and I'm going to Hogsmeade with the most gorgeous girl I've ever laid my eyes on."

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

"It's not that it's bad, it's just that it's. . . perfect. Too perfect. I keep waiting for something bad to happen, to ruin it all."

"Don't Padfoot, just enjoy what you have while it lasts. If something bad happens, it'll happen but don't expect anything, just have fun."

"Beautiful and clever," Sirius grinned. "You're right, of course."

They spent the rest of the morning laughing and plotting new pranks until James and Remus were finally ready to go down for breakfast. The rest of the day passed with little excitement other than the small fireworks display held in the Great Hall at dinner. The culprits enchanted most of the fireworks so that they blew up at the Slytherin table; the rest just soared and crashed into the ceiling or the walls. The professors didn't have to look far to find who was responsible for it.

"Those three again," McGonagall sighed.

"Charming as ever. I think I'll have a word with them," Dumbledore said as he rose and walked over to them.

They got off easy for their prank since no one got hurt, just detention for the rest of the week. They suspected the reason for that was that Dumbledore thought it was funny, but they weren't entirely sure. Rachel had gone to bed early because she wasn't feeling well but overslept and was running late. She got dressed in record time and flew downstairs to meet her friends. When she got there, she found only Remus and James.

"Where's Sirius?" she asked as they walked to the Great Hall.

Remus and James exchanged dark glances unnoticed by Rachel. "He left a while ago," was all they said on the subject.

"Guess he didn't want to wait," Rachel commented.

They walked in silence until Remus asked, "are you feeling any better?"

"A lot better actually. I have a small headache but my nausea is gone!"

"Well, it's going to come back if she sees that," James muttered to Remus, who turned to see what James meant. They were just inside the Great Hall so it wasn't hard to see Sirius sitting at the Gryffindor table snogging Fiona. Why none of the professors stopped it was beyond him, all he knew was that he had to keep Rachel from seeing it.

"Rachel! Look behind you!" James exclaimed in an attempt to draw Rachel's attention from the Great Hall.

"I don't see any- oh hi Lily!"

Apparently Lily was thinking along the same lines as Remus and James because she appeared in front of Rachel and asked, "Ray, will you come with me to get my books? I forgot them in our dormitory."

"I'm sorry Lil, I'm really hungry. I'm sure James will go with you."

Rachel turned to walk to Gryffindor table and Lily looked to Remus for help, but it was too late.

"Is that . . . that's Sirius isn't it? That's what this is about huh? You didn't want me to see," she said, her voice full of pain.

"Rachel-" Lily began.

"I'm not hungry anymore. I'll see you in class." Rachel walked outside. James made to follow her but Remus held him back.

"Give her a few minutes by herself. You can go out after if you want to."

"What has gotten into him? How could he do this to her?" Lily asked furiously.

"I know Lily, it's bad. They were getting along fine yesterday but when I went down to the common room this morning I saw him with Simmons. I asked him what had happened but all he would say is that he had his reasons. I didn't think the prat would be snogging her in public," James said.

"I can't believe he would do this to her right after he asked out her out. And with that-" Lily paused; she didn't want to sound ill mannered. "-Fiona, of all people."

"Let's just go eat. I'll go find Rachel in a bit," Remus said, looking a bit worried.

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Please review! Let me know if you like it or not 


	5. The Second Offer

This is really starting off slow, but it'll get better soon

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Remus found Rachel sitting at the edge of the lake looking out over the water, fresh tears in her eyes.

"Belle?" he asked tentatively, sitting next to her.

Rachel turned to him. "What did I do to him Moony? Did I say something wrong? Or am I just not good enough for him?"

"Belle, don't you _ever_ think you're not good enough. You're an incredible person and if Padfoot can't see that than he's blind," he told her firmly.

"Why-" Rachel began but couldn't finish. She broke down.

"He's an idiot Belle, a complete idiot," Remus said gently as he held her. After a few minutes she stopped crying.

"Thanks Moony, I feel better now," Rachel forced a smile.

"No you don't, but with a bit of time you will. Do you think you can handle seeing him in class?" Remus asked, sympathy in his voice.

"Its not like I have a choice is it? I'll be fine though," Rachel assured him.

"Okay, I'm going to head to class then. I'm sure Ryan will be glad to walk with you."

"But he's not here," Rachel said, puzzled.

"Look behind you."

Rachel turned to see Ryan standing behind her. "Hi Ryan," she said more cheerfully than she felt. Ryan and Remus exchanged greetings.

"I'll leave you two alone," Remus said as he turned and walked back to the castle.

"Thanks for everything Moony!" Rachel called after him.

"So, how have you been?" Ryan asked Rachel. If he noticed that she had been crying, he made no comment about it.

"I've been better, and you?"

"I know what you mean. I think we should we start heading to class," Ryan said, seeing everyone else walk inside the castle.

"Yes we should."

"What do you have right now?" Ryan asked.

"Potions."

"Perfect! I have Charms. It's on the floor above the dungeons so I can walk you," Ryan said pleasantly.

"Why thank you," Rachel smiled.

"This is really personal and you don't have to answer if you'd rather not, but . . . I thought Sirius had asked you out," Ryan asked uncomfortably.

"He had, but apparently he changed his mind," Rachel laughed. She was still hurt but she was too proud to show it, at least in front of Ryan.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I'm over the initial shock," she said with a smile.

"I'm surprised that he chose Fiona of all girls," Ryan said.

"She's not that bad looking," Rachel said, a hint of animosity in her voice.

"She's not beautiful either. Besides, she's known to be . . . er, _friendly_, to say the least."

"Oh, that, right. Well, enough about Black and Simmons. This is my class."

"So it is. Before you go, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend? That is, if you don't have detention," Ryan grinned.

"Fortunately, I don't. So of course I'll go with you." Rachel flashed him her brightest smile.

"It's a date then. I'd better go before I'm late. I'll see you later Rachel."

"Bye Ryan," she said as she turned to walk into class. She was the last one to arrive so the only open seat was next to Severus Snape. She quickly took her seat.

"Hey Sev, how's it going?" Rachel asked. She and Snape rarely talked outside of class, but when they did talk it was as if nothing had changed.

"Okay, I suppose. Lily doesn't want to talk to me anymore though," he admitted sadly.

Rachel was honest with him. "You did call her a you-know-what, and besides, she's tired of how you act when you're at school, and she doesn't like your friends, or something about your aspirations for after Hogwarts, she didn't explain-"

"Okay, I get it! Anything else to add to the list?" said a disgruntled Snape. Rachel laughed. "Why do you still talk to me?" Snape wondered.

"I like giving people a chance until they give me a reason not to. That and I see the good in you. I know that the guy I met during the summer is still in you, though you hide him well at school," she said dryly.

Professor Slughorn walked in before Snape could respond. "Okay class, look at the person next to you and remember who it is because that will be your partner for the next three potions we make. The instructions are on the board. I will not offer any help today; I want to see how well you do on your own. You may begin."

"Guess we're stuck with each other," Rachel grinned.

"Guess so. I'll get the ingredients," Snape said as he got up.

Rachel set up the cauldron. She avoided looking to where her friends were sitting because she knew who else was there.

"Have you noticed who Black is sitting with?" Snape asked when he got back.

"Fiona right?"

Snape nodded. "Hadn't he asked you out?"

"Jeez! Does the whole school know?"

"If they don't they will soon enough, but I heard Melody telling Stanton yesterday in Potion's Club."

"Oh, well yeah he had but there's been a change of plans," Rachel said as she dropped the ingredients in the potion a little more forcefully than necessary.

"What happened?"

Rachel turned to him; he could see the pain in her eyes. "I don't know Sev, I really don't know," she said quietly. They continued to work in silence.

"I thought you hated Black." It was more of a question than a statement.

"I did, but then I got to know him and . . . I guess I liked him, until he pulled this little stunt."

"He's a stupid git; I don't know why you're friends with them."

"Not you too! No one gets that it's because we get along and we like the same things. Quidditch, pranks-"

"Speaking of pranks, I really loved your last one," Snape cut in sardonically. He hadn't forgotten yesterday's episode at dinner.

"I'm sorry!" Rachel exclaimed, "but I made sure none of them got you!"

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Okay, so I know these last two chapters are really short, maybe I should have just combined them. . . anyway I'll try to post the next chapter up soon. Please review! 


	6. Hogsmead and Rain

Oh my gosh it's been pouring all day and I have to walk home, woe is I. . . : ) enjoy!

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James and Remus spent the rest of the week trying to get Rachel and Sirius to talk. It was all in vain.

Remus tried to be sensible with her. "Belle, you can't tell me you hate him because I know you don't."

"Maybe I don't, but I won't talk to him," Rachel said stubbornly.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to."

"You can still talk to him."

"What do you want me to say Moony? I'm hurt and angry, and I refuse to speak to him! Please drop it."

"For the hundredth time no!" said an irritated Sirius.

"She did nothing to you!"

"I have my reasons Prongs, stop insisting," said Sirius with a tone of finality in his voice.

Detention was worse. At first James tried to get them to talk, but neither of them would budge. The second day he tried to talk to them in turns, but it was too much of a hassle. He ended up not talking at all for the rest of their detentions.

By the time Saturday came they were so fed up with each other that a nice trip to Hogsmeade without having to deal with Sirius and Rachel was welcoming to Remus and James. They decided to go with Lily, Melody, and Julie. Rachel was to go with Ryan, and Sirius with Fiona.

"How do you manage to always look so beautiful?" Ryan asked Rachel when he saw her.

Rachel just laughed. "So where to first?"

"Where would you like to go?"

"Anywhere but Madame Puddifoot's, I've been told it's absolutely dreadful," Rachel said good-naturedly.

"Excellent! That place is a guy's worst nightmare but we're forced to go if our date wants to. Let's go to Zonko's, you'll love it there."

They spent the morning in Zonko's, Dervish and Banges, Honeydukes, and the post office (Rachel had a letter for her friend to deliver). The afternoon found Ryan and Rachel in the Three Broomsticks talking and getting to know each other.

"So you two are half sisters but you're a half blood and she's a muggle born? How does that happen?"

"My mom was a witch and Lily is a muggle born, but we have the same dad so we're half sisters," Rachel recited the answer to the most asked question. "I know, it's a huge coincidence that we're both witches."

"What a story. And now you're living with your dad and the rest of Lily's family? Isn't it awkward for you?"

Memories from Rachel's summer flashed through her mind. Her mother's funeral. Flying out to London. Meeting her father, stepsister, and their family for the first time. Petunia being jealous of her and Lily, and being cruel because of it. But worst of all was her father's hatred towards her. That was how she had met Severus.

She had been swinging on the swing set at the park one day after a particularly bad fight with her father. She tried to stop crying but couldn't, her father was so heartless with her. That's when she saw him. A skinny, pale boy with long, greasy hair. What caught her eye was the wand sticking out of his pocket; careless, but fortunate for Rachel.

"Hey!" she called out unabashedly as she jumped off the swing and walked over to him.

He turned. "What?"

"Are you a wizard?" she blurted out.

"How do you-?"

"Your wand is sticking out."

"Oh, right. I'm guessing you're a witch?"

"Yup," she grinned, showing him her wand. "Rachel Evans."

"Severus Snape," he shook her hand. "Are you by any chance related to Lily Evans?"

"Mmhmm, she's my half sister."

He looked at her with scepticism. As the summer progressed, they found they could relate to one another (both their fathers hated them) and became great friends . . . until they arrived at Hogwarts.

"Rachel?" Ryan asked uncertainly.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, umm, it's definitely awkward, but Lily's mom is wonderful."

"That's good, I'm sure she makes you feel welcome."

"I suppose. But enough about me, you said you're a pureblood right?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, James and I are something like second cousins by marriage; all the purebloods are somehow interrelated."

"Wow no way? James hadn't mentioned that. This whole class thing is totally weird. Back in California people didn't care about that stuff, but here it's huge."

"That's lucky, all this pureblood stuff is getting ridiculous," Ryan said grimly.

"Do your parents agree with it?"

"My dad thinks it's a bunch of rubbish, but my mom believes it. She's been trying to marry me off to a 'respectable girl' since I was born but my dad wouldn't let her. He insists I marry whom I want to. They get into a lot of fights over it."

"I'm sorry. It's good that your dad is giving you that freedom though."

"I think part of the reason is because his marriage was an arranged one so he doesn't want that for me."

"It must have been hard for them."

"Probably, but anyway, how do you like Hogsmeade? This is your first time coming right?"

"It is, and it's wonderful! They have so many things here and it's so beautiful."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I think you stocked up on enough Zonko's products to pull some pretty good pranks," Ryan laughed.

"Oh I know! I can't wait to start plotting!" Rachel laughed along. When she stopped she noticed Ryan looking at her. She forced herself to look into his dazzling blue eyes. They were so . . . profound . . . she had to shift her gaze. Unluckily, by doing that she caught sight of Sirius sitting in a nearby booth practically sucking the life out of Fiona. Was that all they ever did?

"We should start heading back before it gets any darker," Rachel said, wanting to get out of there quickly.

"You're right. I didn't realize how late it was, time just flies by when I'm with you." He really had a way with words. Rachel smiled as she took his hand and walked out. It was raining so Ryan pulled out his wand to conjure an umbrella but Rachel stopped him.

"Let's just walk in the rain."

"But we'll get drenched."

"Exactly. C'mon, live a little," she teased as she pulled him out into the rain.

"You're so unpredictable, yet captivating," Ryan chuckled as he walked in the rain with her.

By the time they reached the castle, both were soaked to the skin. They had to sneak up to Gryffindor Tower so Filch wouldn't catch them making a mess.

"I had a great time with you today," Rachel said.

"I did too. You're different from any girl I've ever gone out with. I really like you Rachel," Ryan said as he leaned in to her.

"I like you too," Rachel whispered. His face was so close to hers.

"May I?" he asked. Rachel nodded her head slightly. Ryan kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Someone looks happy," Julie commented. Rachel was smiling brightly as she walked over to her friends in the common room.

"You're drenched! What happened?" Remus asked.

"We got caught in the rain. I should go change."

"They got caught in the rain! How romantic!" Lily said loftily as Rachel went upstairs to put on dry clothes.

"We got caught in the rain too!" James said to Lily; they all laughed. Rachel was back within minutes.

"So?" Melody asked.

"So what?" Rachel asked, knowing perfectly well what the girls wanted to hear.

"What happened today?" Melody asked again.

"Oh, with Ryan? Nothing really, we just walked around Hogsmeade and then came back."

"Ray! What else happened? Did he kiss you?" Julie prodded.

"Don't worry about it," Rachel winked.

Melody was about to protest but Sirius walked in, without Fiona for once. He took a seat next to James.

It's been a while since you've hung out with us," Remus said.

"I know. Sorry mate but Fiona was so clingy," Sirius answered making himself comfortable.

"What happened to her anyway?" James asked.

"Like I said, too clingy. I had to end it."

"Oh, right," Melody said offhandedly. "Rachel, tell us _something_! You went out with _Ryan Stanton_, there has to be something to say!"

"Ok, ok. Well, we walked around Hogsmeade and he showed me the most wonderful places! Then we ended the day at the Three Broomsticks. We talked for hours; he's the perfect gentleman." Rachel shot Sirius a nasty look as she said this.

"You were at the Three Broomsticks? I didn't see you there, but then again Fiona and I were a little busy," Sirius shot back with an equally nasty look. They glared at each other.

"So Padfoot, does this mean we'll be seeing more of you?" Remus asked, breaking the icy silence.

"Probably, until I ask Amber Peterson out," Sirius said. He looked at Rachel to see her reaction but her face revealed no emotion.

"Moving fast aren't you?" Lily commented.

"Well Evans, there are so many girls who want me, it's hard to say no," Sirius said haughtily.

"Come off it Padfoot," James said, annoyed.

"I'm going to bed," Lily announced. "You coming?" she asked the girls.

"Yeah," they said, getting up too.

"Night Prongs, Moony," Rachel called behind her.

"Night Belle," they said.

"Night Rachel," Sirius taunted. Rachel ignored him.

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So I'm posting this up in computer class instead of doing my class work and I really hope the teacher doesn't catch me because if she does. . . well let's just say it won't be good (she threatened to kick me out for 4 days last time!). That's my adventure for the day ; ) hope you liked this chapter! 


	7. One Close Call Too Many

I haven't been writing a disclaimer because I figure everyone knows that I'm not J.K. Rowling, but here it is, just in case ; )

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The next morning was cloudy and rainy. The weather, which had already been cold, was steadily getting bitter and Rachel had very little winter clothes. 'California wasn't nearly this bad' she thought to herself as she dressed as warmly as she could under her school robes.

"You think this is bad," Lily laughed as she saw Rachel shivering, "wait until it starts snowing. I'm surprised it hasn't already."

"I can't wait," Rachel grumbled.

"Just dress in your uniform before you get in trouble Ray. The reason it's so cold is because someone left the window open," Lily said, closing it, "but the rest of the castle is bound to be warm."

"All right," Rachel consented, slipping into her school attire. It consisted of a button down blouse, tie, vest, skirt, stockings, and robes.

When she finally reached the common room she found only Sirius.

"Where are the others?" she forced herself to ask.

"Should be down soon." They waited in silence until Remus and James arrived.

"I'm sooo sleepy. I can't wait for the holidays so I don't have to wake up so early," James griped.

"Same here," Remus yawned.

"Then it's a good thing you only have to wait three weeks," Rachel said.

"That's still too long," Remus mumbled.

"Are you all going home for the holidays?" James asked.

"Yeah," Remus answered.

"Have to," Sirius and Rachel said together. They met eyes and quickly looked away. They had forgotten that they had that in common; they both hated the place they called home.

"So we're still on for today, right?" Remus asked. There was to be a full moon that night.

"Of course," James answered.

"Stop arguing you two! You're going to get us caught!" James whispered furiously. Couldn't they ever get along?

"There isn't enough room for all of us under here!" Rachel whispered, struggling to cover her legs with the invisibility cloak.

"Then why don't you go back?" Sirius snapped.

"I'm not the one with the fat head using up the whole cloak!"

"Wan-"

"Stop already! Belle, transform and Padfoot will carry you, then we'll all fit."

"Why don't you carry her?"

"Because I'm a little busy with the map!"

"Too bad, I'm not-"

"Fine! Just fly to my shoulder Belle but it'll be a bumpier ride."

Rachel transformed and flew to James' shoulder. Sirius caught himself gazing at her despite himself; he loved the way she looked as a fairy almost as much as regularly.

As a fairy, Rachel kept her own face and body (except she was four inches tall), but her outfit changed. It consisted of thigh-high boots and a dress that went half way down her thigh, both made of a combination of grass and leaves that never died or lost colour (all fairies had very much the same outfits, but some were made of flower petals and plants of various colours, or like Rachel's, grass and leaves). Her wings were translucent green and her lustrous red hair, which grew in length until it was just past her knees, was intertwined with beautiful flowers in the fashion of fairies.

Rachel noticed him watching her and gave him an inquisitive look before turning her face up superciliously and looking away. He flicked her off James' shoulder and she went soaring through the air. Fortunately, she managed to stop before hitting the floor. She flew swiftly to Sirius' face and poked him in the eye, then flew to James' other shoulder.

"Blasted fairy!" Sirius exclaimed, cupping his hand around his injured eye.

James sighed and decided to ignore them; they had reached the grounds. James pulled the invisibility cloak off and hid it, along with the Marauder's Map, in some nearby bushes before transforming into a stag. Sirius also transformed. The three of them made their way to the Whomping Willow, staying far enough as to not get hit by it. Rachel carefully flew to the knot on the tree's trunk and pressed it, halting the thrashing branches. The dog and stag joined her and they exchanged significant glances; their adventure for that month had just begun.

"Did Belle make it?" James asked, looking around the common room. Both he and Sirius were panting. They had been half way up to Gryffindor Tower when McGonagall had appeared. They would have made it except that's the moment Sirius tripped and sent the cloak flying off of them, making it so they had to split up and run for it.

"I thought she had, she was flying in front of us. . . check the map."

"I- I don't see her," James said.

"We have to go look for her then. We can't let her get caught by-"

"Hello? Is that you Potter?" came Lily's voice from the dormitory stairs.

"You go, I'll take care of Evans," James whispered to Sirius, shoving the map in his hands. He dashed out of the portrait hole and set off to look for Rachel, not knowing where to begin. Too late he realized that he had forgotten the invisibility cloak. He was walking along a corridor when he heard footsteps coming his way.

"Belle?" he called out softly. There was no answer but the footsteps quickened. He looked down at the map, saw it was a professor, and cursed for not looking at it before calling out. He had no where to go, he was as good as caught.

"Stay quiet!" Rachel said as she pulled Sirius behind a mirror on the wall.

"What is this place?" Sirius asked after the sound of footsteps faded away.

"I'm not sure. I had to transform back because my stupid fairy light would have given me away but I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ended up here. I needed a place to hide and for some reason I decided to try this mirror. It turned out to be some sort of secret passageway but I didn't want to explore it by myself so I've just been waiting to see when I could make a safe getaway."

"Good job finding this. We'll have to explore it some other time though because James is waiting for us in the common room."

"Right. Do you think it's safe to go yet?"

Sirius looked down at the map. "Yeah but we have to be careful because I forgot the cloak."

"Yesterday was a close call," James said that Monday morning at breakfast.

"Yeah, I know. But I found a secret passage. We'll go explore it tomorrow night and add it to the map," Rachel said.

"You found a new passage? Why don't we go tonight?" James asked.

"Because we're all tired and need sleep. Besides, by tomorrow Moony will be back and we can talk him into coming with us," Sirius said.

"Good idea."

The trip to the passageway a couple of days later passed with no problems, they had even been able to persuade Remus to join them. Turns out, the passage led to an alley in Hogsmeade. They didn't think they would ever use it since it was quite deep in the village, but it was a useful thing to know.

The first two weeks of December slipped away. Rachel had seen snowfall for the first time and thought it was fantastic, at least until the castle grounds started getting frosty because of it. What she loved most were the Christmas decorations in the castle, they were absolutely marvellous. The Christmas trees in the Great Hall, the wreaths and garland throughout the castle (with mistletoes here and there), and just the overall feel of it was wonderful. Her friends, were wonderful too, even Sirius was okay at times. True, they never held a conversation for longer than two minutes but they weren't always at each other's throats either. James and Remus gave up on trying to make them talk like before. It was obvious that Rachel and Sirius liked each other, so their friends figured they would eventually work things out (even though Sirius had a new girl almost every week and Rachel was seeing Ryan).

To the Gryffindor team's great displeasure, Quidditch practices were still held about once a week even though it was bitter cold. Mendez, their captain, insisted that they had to be the best team, and the best team practiced regardless of icy weather.

"Look, I know it's a little chilly-" Mendez told his team on one occasion before practice began.

"Freezing more like-" Jeremy, one of the Beaters, muttered.

"-and none of you really want to practice," he continued, "but we have to. When we get back from holiday, we're going to play against Ravenclaw and I have to admit, Stanton has put together a good team. As you all know, it's my last year here and I'm determined to win. I want that Quidditch Cup." So they practiced until Mendez was finally convinced that they were good enough.

Rachel went to bed one night after a tiring practice remembering that the next day was her birthday.

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I want to thank all my reviewers for. . . well, reviewing! You're all awesome! I like both Ryan and Sirius too, it's going to be a tough decision for Rachel, or maybe not since Sirius is such a jerk ; ) but he'll reveal why he did that in the chapter after next, I think. 


	8. A Lull in the Bickering

So this is the birthday chapter and I like it because I like snow, even though I haven't seen it in years : (

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"Surprise!" James and Remus yelled.

They were in the girl's dormitories (how they got in is anyone's guess) standing in front of Rachel's bed. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"You remembered?" she asked in disbelief.

"Of course! How could we forget your sixteenth birthday!?" James said.

"We got you a gift. It's nothing big but here it is," Remus handed her a wrapped package.

"It's from the three of us. Sirius would have come-"

"You don't have to make excuses for him, I know we're not exactly the best of friends."

"I know, but this is partly his too," Remus explained.

Rachel unwrapped the gift and found a small mirror. She looked at the boys quizzically.

"It's a three way mirror. Well, four way actually," James said, leaving Rachel as confused as before.

"We all have one, Padfoot, Prongs, and I. You call the name of whichever one of us you want to talk to and we'll appear on your mirror, you on ours, and we can talk." Remus' explanation made much more sense.

"It's awesome! I love it!" Rachel beamed, jumping off her bed and hugging James and Remus. "Thank you two so much!!"

"No problem. Er, do you think you could let us breathe?" James choked out.

"Oh, sorry. I'm just excited."

"Don't worry about it. Now why don't you get ready to go down to breakfast before there's nothing left," Remus said.

"Right again. I'll be down in a few."

The trio found Sirius sitting by himself at the Gryffindor table and went to sit next to him.

"Happy birthday," he muttered to Rachel, not looking at her once.

"Thanks," she said, though she meant it as much as he did.

"What else did you get for your birthday?" Remus asked Rachel.

"Lily bought me a cute pair of snow boots and her mom sent me a matching sweater. I suspect this-" she picked up the box that two owls had just dropped in front of her, "-is from my friends back at Starlight."

Rachel opened the package and found an assortment of her favourite muggle candy and chocolates, including Hershey Kisses and Mr. Goodbars. Along with the candy was a smaller box that read: _Open in private_. Rachel forgot about eating breakfast as her curiosity got the best of her. She glanced at Remus and James who were peering over her shoulder.

"Shall we go to the common room?" Rachel suggested.

"It should be empty. You coming Padfoot?" Remus asked.

Sirius, who was wondering what the box contained, nodded and followed them. A crowd of second years were in the common room so the group of four made their way up to the boy's dormitory, which was empty. No one spoke as Rachel took the small box out of the package. Before opening it, she took the letter and read it.

_Happy Birthday Belle!_

_How are things over there? I hope you're having a blast, it's probably freezing where you're at! We're doing okay over here, just doing the usual. We miss having you around to help us with our pranks :( You should hear Steve talk about you!_

_Do not! Not anymore than Adam does!_

_We bought you all your favorites because we weren't sure if they have these over there. On a heavier note, we got your last letter and, well, the things we've found out are weird. Your mom definitely didn't die a natural death; it was murder. They're not saying who, but our sources point to that whack job over where you're at, Voldemort. We'll try to find out more and get back to you, but be careful Belle, take care of yourself because you might be in more danger than you think. We snuck into your old place and got some stuff we thought you might like. We also found something from your mom, maybe a birthday present, I don't know. It makes us think she knew something was going to happen. You'll see what I mean when you open it. Like we said, take care of yourself. If your new friends are reading this, take care of our Rachel. Write back when you can._

_Your friends,_

_Adam and Steven_

_P.S. Sorry for putting such a damper on your birthday._

Rachel turned to see the boys shocked expressions.

"Murder?" Remus whispered.

No one said anything. Instead, Rachel picked up the box with shaky hands and opened it. Inside were various pictures, memories of her old life frozen in time, along with her favourite stuffed animal. What caught her attention was the scarf and gloves in the box. They were thick, white and apparently hand knitted, with a small note pinned on it.

_You'll need these soon dear_

"'You'll need these soon'," Rachel repeated aloud.

"Maybe she only meant that since winter was coming up-" James began.

"No, I know my mom, this is a cryptic warning. Besides, she had made a will and everything. . . she had to have known I was going to have to come over here. "

"And they reckon it was Voldemort who did it?" Remus asked.

"I guess, I just don't know what makes them think that. I'll ask in my next letter. But if it was him, why? Why would he care about someone all the way in California?"

"And if it was him, they're right, and you're probably in danger," Sirius said, speaking for the first time. "When Voldemort wants something done, it gets done."

There was silence for a few minutes. Rachel didn't know what to do, there were so many thoughts running through her mind, so many unanswered questions, an unsolved mystery. She put on the gloves and looked at Sirius but quickly averted her gaze when their eyes met. She could have sworn she saw concern in his eyes, but she must have been imagining it because Sirius didn't care about her, right?

"It's your birthday Belle, and it's a rain free Saturday. Why don't we go outside and do something to get your mind off of this?" Remus suggested, breaking the silence.

"Moony is right. It'll do no good to dwell on this, especially not today. Let's just go outside because we have a surprise for you; just don't look out the window," James warned, a small smile on his face.

"And I'm sure you and Padfoot can make an effort to get along like before, at least for today," Remus added, looking hopefully at the pair of them.

"Okay," Sirius and Rachel agreed.

"Let's get going then!"

James covered Rachel's eyes with his hands and led her out onto the grounds. "Okay, now you can look."

Rachel opened her eyes and looked around. It was snowing.

"Oh my gosh! It's so beautiful!" Rachel giggled as she let the wonder of it all sink in. It had been snowing for a couple of weeks now but Rachel had never actually seen snowfall since it had happened at night.

"Are you, by any chance, acquainted with the snowball?" Sirius asked her, holding something white in his gloved hand.

Rachel eyed the snowball wearily. "I'm afraid I am."

From the corner of her eye she could see Remus and James also holding snowballs in their hands; she prepared to dodge them. Soon enough, snow was flying through the air, two towards her, one towards James. Rachel managed to avoid getting hit by diving to the floor and at the same time picking up snow for her own ammunition. James and Sirius had teamed up, leaving Rachel with Remus. The teams changed after Sirius betrayed James and joined Rachel, forcing James to partner with Remus. The teams kept switching up during the couple of hours they were playing, finally ending when a stray snowball accidentally hit a group Slytherins passing by (it was an accident none of them were sorry about).

"Who threw that?!" one of the older boys hollered. Rachel turned to see the group approaching her, Severus among them; Sirius, James, and Remus rushed to her side. Rachel looked at Severus who avoided her gaze. They didn't talk about his friends, it was a topic they stayed away from, but she still didn't like that he was one of them.

"What does it matter? It hit one of you blokes, hardly regretful," Sirius sneered.

"You had best mind how you speak to us Black, wouldn't want to get in trouble with mommy now would you?" a blonde haired boy threatened. The Slytherins chortled.

"Eat dung Malfoy, you think we're scared of you?" James scoffed.

"You should be, you filthy blood traitor," Malfoy spat.

"Better a blood traitor than what you are," James retorted.

"And what is it that I am Potter?" Malfoy pulled out his wand, preparing for a fight. James did the same, followed by Remus and Sirius.

"Let's just go you guys," Rachel said softly.

Malfoy turned to her, seeing her for the first time. "You must be Rachel Evans. You're rather good looking, for a half blood; it's a wonder we haven't met before."

"Fortunate, more like," Sirius said. James and Remus laughed.

Malfoy chose to ignore that. "Even though I only go out with purebloods, I'm sure I can make an exception in your case," he leered. Rachel was aware of his eyes travelling along her body, stopping at her chest and legs. It didn't go unnoticed by Sirius either because he pulled her behind him and pointed his wand at Malfoy.

"She's taken, better luck next time. _Aguamenti_!" A stream of water hit the group of Slytherins, causing them to slip and fall to the floor.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ Rachel shouted, catching the boy's wands and flinging them out of their reach. The Marauders ran back towards the castle and up to Gryffindor Tower.

"That. . . was. . .ruddy. . . brilliant!" James said excitedly between breaths once they had reached the common room.

"Don't you all realize that they'll get us back for this?" Remus said uneasily once he had caught his breath.

"Like they've never tried before?" James laughed. "Stop worrying so much Moony!"

Rachel was looking at Sirius. "Umm. . . thanks for standing up for me back there," she told him shyly, not quite meeting his eyes.

"He had no right to look at you that way. I was going to tear his eyes out but decided that was too extreme," he smiled at Rachel.

Maybe things were starting to look up between them. But what had he meant when he said that she was taken? Was he referring to Ryan or himself? Did he mean that he still liked her? Maybe she was just reading too much into it, maybe it meant nothing. Rachel looked down at the gloves her mother gave her and a wave of sorrow washed over her. She took a seat on the floor in front of the fire and stared at the flames. Even though the fire was emitting a strong heat, she still felt cold inside, empty; it was her first birthday without her mom.

Sirius followed Rachel to the fire and sat next to her; she didn't seem to notice, and if she did she said nothing about it. He thought about how stupid he was for letting her go, now she was going out with Ryan and there was nothing he could do about it. Or was there? He looked over at Rachel and saw that she was lost in thought; Sirius figured it was because of what she had found out earlier. She looked so beautiful at that moment with her hair wet and messy from the snow, the colour in her cheeks from the heat, her eyes, so mystifying, so lovely. He saw a tear trickle down her cheek; he reached over and brushed it away. She looked at him, not really seeing him.

"Don't let it get to you Rachel. She would want you to be happy."

"You're right, but it doesn't change that she's not here and it doesn't lessen the pain any more." She rarely let herself think about what had happened, but when she did the pain was intense. She went back to staring at the fire, a small part of her wishing the flames would engulf her.

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Ah, the plot thickens at last, or begins. . . I don't know. This chapter was long and it ended on a sad note, désolé (sorry). The next chapter will be better though, I think. . .

As always, I so appreciate your reviews!


	9. And you want to go with him?

This chapter is kinda short, but the next one will make up for it : )

Disclaimer: It breaks my heart every time I say this, but I don't own Harry Potter or the characters in it

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Rachel found out that the school had a Yule Ball every year the Saturday before they went home for the holidays. That Saturday was about a week away and it seemed that that was the topic of conversation with all the girls. 

"Why is this the last year they're having it?" Rachel asked the group during break on Monday.

"Dumbledore reckons that with all the murders Voldemort does a lot of people don't much feel like celebrating the holidays if they've lost someone," Remus explained.

"How right he is," Rachel mumbled.

"So, has Ryan asked you out to the Yule Ball yet?" Julie asked Rachel.

"No, maybe he doesn't want to," Rachel said, though she knew it was only a matter of time before he did.

"You know he will. Look, there he comes now," Lily waved at someone behind Rachel.

"You're not going to say yes are you?" James asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Rachel asked him. Sirius' scowl went unnoticed.

"Because you've said no to all the other guys who've asked," James responded.

"That was because I didn't want to go with them." That wasn't entirely true. The truth was that part of her wanted Sirius to ask her out, but if Ryan asked first than she would say yes.

"And you want to go with _him_?" James whispered as Ryan got near. Ryan, who hadn't heard James' comment, didn't even bother to pull Rachel aside, he just came right out with it.

"Rachel, will you go to the ball with me?"

"Of course," she smiled.

"What's gotten you all grouchy?" Remus asked Sirius who was sitting in the common room scowling at everyone.

"Nothing. Where are the others?"

"I don't know where Prongs is but I saw Belle with Ryan when I was coming back from my meeting," Remus answered.

Sirius' scowl deepened and Remus understood. He had been acting this way since Monday.

"You're jealous," he stated bluntly.

"Of what?" Sirius asked.

"That Belle is going with Ryan. You want her for yourself," Remus said.

Sirius scoffed. "The last thing I am is jealous," he lied.

"I don't know why you're acting this way," Remus continued, "It's your fault, you had her and you let her go."

Sirius was quick to change the subject. "Have you asked Melody out yet?"

"She said yes," Remus grinned.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks, who are you going with?"

"I'm going to ask Jaclyn from Hufflepuff."

"But tomorrow is Friday, what if she already has a date?"

"She doesn't. I hinted that I might ask her out so she'll be waiting for me," Sirius said arrogantly.

"So, this Saturday is the Yule Ball," James tried to say casually as he walked with Lily.

"So it is," Lily answered.

"Lily-" James hesitated, his heart was pounding.

"Yes Potter?" Potter. The name rang in his ears.

"Can't you use my name every once in a while?" James asked, a trace of pain in his voice.

"I'm sorry. . . James," Lily said. He smiled and stopped walking. He turned to her, took her hands his, and gazed into those startling green eyes.

"Lily, will you go to the ball with me?"

Lily's breath caught in her throat. Go with James Potter? But she hated him. . . right? _'Not really,'_ part of her said,_ 'he's changed so much, he's actually a nice guy.'_ She looked at him, getting lost in his hazel eyes. _'Should I?'_

"James, I-I don't know what to say. I want to go with you, but I don't want to see anyone right now."

"That's fine, we can go as friends."

Lily beamed. "In that case, I'd love to."

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I added some Lily/James in this chapter, I'm not sure why actually, but yeah. Pseudonymismypseudonym, I'm glad you like Rachel's nickname and animagus, it took me forever to choose it. Sterling Fire Kittie, I loved that last part too, I was really surprised I came up with that. As always, hope you enjoyed this chapter and let me know what you think (even if it means being brutal)! 


	10. The Ball

I hope I updated fast enough ; ) I actually had this chapter written out, I just needed to look it over before I posted it.

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The ball was to start in an hour and Rachel was only just getting ready. It had been a long day and all she wanted to do was sleep. All the same, she couldn't back out now regardless of how dreadful she felt. She took a twenty minute shower and spent the rest of the hour getting ready. She pulled out a magnificent, strapless teal dress and put it on; it fit her perfectly. It was her most cherished possession as it had been her mother's. She let her hair down and fashioned it in such an elegant way that she surprised herself. She picked up the necklace that went with the dress and fastened it around her neck. The only thing left was make-up. She pulled out the small amount of cosmetics she owned and sighed. Since she only wore make-up on special occasions, she didn't really know what to do.

"Lily," she called. They were the only two left in the room.

"What is it?" she asked, not turning from the mirror.

"Umm, can you help me with the make-up?"

"Sure, let me just finish here," she said as she pinned up her hair. "Ugh, straight hair is impossible, but I'm done." She turned to Rachel. "Oh Ray, that dress is lovely!"

"Thanks," she smiled. Rachel was surprised that it only took about ten minutes to do her make-up.

"There, you look great. Ryan and Sirius will be amazed."

Rachel looked at herself in the mirror. She had to agree with Lily. The dress complimented her body and the colour brought out her red hair. The make-up added a nice touch, and she still couldn't get over how great her hair looked.

"What do you mean?" she asked Lily, finally processing what she had said.

"Just what I said. Don't act like you don't know that Sirius fancies you. And I know you fancy him too, even though you're seeing Ryan."

"I do not. Padfoot is just someone I put up with."

"He denies it too, but everyone sees the truth."

"It's almost seven, we should head down."

"Okay, but just pay attention to how he looks at you."

Sirius and James were waiting in the common room for Lily and Rachel. Sirius was supposed to meet Jaclyn in the entrance hall but he agreed to walk down with the others. However, Melody and Julie got tired of waiting so they left, taking Remus with them. Both boys were wearing fine dress robes; James' were a deep red and Sirius' were the same the shade of grey as his eyes. They weren't talking much since James was nervous.

The girls finally came down. Lily had on a green dress and looked pretty, but that isn't what caught Sirius' attention. His gaze was on Rachel; her appearance mesmerized him.

"I'm sorry we took so long," Rachel said mostly to Sirius since James and Lily were talking.

"No problem, er, you look nice," Sirius said, though in his opinion_nice_ was an understatement.

"Thanks, you look good too. I think we should get going," Rachel said. She couldn't help but notice that Sirius looked extremely handsome in robes of grey which showed off his muscular frame.

"I agree, since Prongs and Lily are too busy to realize we're here," Sirius said. They were being rather friendly with each other, it was odd for them both.

"Where are you meeting Stanton?" he tried to ask casually as they made their way downstairs.

"In the entrance hall. I assume that's where you're meeting Jaclyn?" Rachel asked offhandedly.

"You assumed correctly. How are things going with you and Stanton?"

"Fine, he's a good guy. How about you and whoever you're seeing these days?"

"I'm not seeing anyone. I only just asked Jaclyn out yesterday but we're not going out."

"Oh."

"Listen Belle, I want to tell-"

"Rachel," Ryan said as he spotted them walking down the staircase. He took in her appearance, "you look simply stunning."

"Thank you," Rachel said quietly as she took his hand and stood by him. She was burning to know what Sirius was about to say, and part of her wanted to stay with him.

"Hey Sirius, how's it going?" Ryan asked.

"Fine, and you?" Sirius tried to be polite though all he wanted was to punch Ryan for taking his girl.

"I'm doing great. Who wouldn't be if they had Rachel standing next to them?"

"Naturally," Sirius responded rather stiffly, "If you'll excuse me, I need to go find my date." Rachel watched him go with a twinge of regret.

"Have I told how amazing you look?" Ryan asked playfully.

"I believe you have," Rachel smiled. She studied Ryan. He was a good looking guy, she could see why a lot of girls liked him. Today especially, in his midnight blue robes he made quite a impression._'But he's not Sirius'_ said a nagging voice in the back of her mind.

"Shall we?" he asked, taking her hand and leading her the double doors into the Great Hall.

Rachel was so deep in thought that the only change she noticed in the Great Hall was that the four house tables were gone. In their place were small round tables throughout the room, leaving a large opening in the middle for the dance floor.

"Where are we going?" Rachel asked as Ryan led her to the front.

"I keep forgetting you're new! It's tradition for the Head Boy and Girl, and their dates, to sit up front. Then the Prefects and their dates sit on either side of us," Ryan explained.

"Oh, that's, uh, cool," Rachel said, hating the idea.

"Don't tell me you're shy!" Ryan was clearly amused.

"I'm not. . . well, maybe just a little. I just don't like being in the spotlight."

"Even if you weren't up here you'd still be in the spotlight. I mean, look at you. You're the belle of the ball."

Belle. Rachel almost laughed at the irony. Remus, Melody, Lily, and James took seats to their right. Rachel caught sight of Sirius and Jaclyn a few tables away. Once everyone was seated, Professor Dumbledore stood.

"Welcome everyone to our annual Yule Ball. I know you are all eager to begin, so I will keep this short. Tomorrow is the beginning of your holiday leave and for those of you whom I will not see, happy holidays. I hope you all enjoy this night. Let the feast begin!"

The food was better than usual, if that was even possible. Rachel found herself enjoying the ball thus far rather than enduring it. It was fun eating and talking to her friends and Ryan, until Lily whispered in her ear, "Sirius can't seem to take his eyes off of you."

"Stop teasing Lily, he's not looking at me. He's just admiring the tree behind us," Rachel said, more to convince herself than anything.

"Believe what you will," Lily grinned, turning back to James.

Rachel couldn't help sneaking a glance at Sirius. Why did Lily always have to be right? He was looking at her intently. _'Well, it's his fault. He could have asked me'_ she thought to herself. She finished her meal and tried to forget about Sirius. When everyone had finished eating, the food vanished and the lights dimmed.

"I forgot to mention that the Head Boy and Girl and their partners open up the dance," Ryan whispered to Rachel as he stood up and held out his hand to help her up.

"You seem to have forgotten to tell me a lot," Rachel smiled nervously.

"Don't worry, just follow my lead."

The two couples stood at the centre of attention. A slow song began to play and the dancing started. Rachel was relieved when other couples joined them because she wasn't comfortable with so many people staring. The song ended and a faster one came on. They danced for what felt like hours after which Rachel was tired. She and Ryan went to get a drink and walked out on the grounds. The crisp air felt good after all that dancing. Neither of them spoke until they reached a bench.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance?" Ryan asked a bit out of breath.

"No, I just said I didn't like to," Rachel clarified.

"Oh." Ryan sat and simply admired her beauty.

"What is it?" Rachel asked, thinking something was wrong.

"Nothing. You're just about the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen."

Rachel blushed a little. "Thank you," she said shyly.

He leaned in and gave her an innocent kiss. Rachel couldn't help but notice that when he kissed her, she felt nothing. Not like when Sirius had kissed her. . .

Ryan pulled away and took her hand. His eyes searched hers as he said, "Rachel, I really like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"

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I'm so sorry hpfan4ever and everyone else, Sirius still hasn't revealed why he did what he did, but he will next chapter, I promise! I have that one written, I just need to type it. Might be up by tomorrow. I'm having a bit of trouble choosing between Ryan and Sirius. . . Ryan is so sweet, why should Rachel reject him? 


	11. On the Hogwarts Express

I really can't remember if the title for this chapter is in one of the hp books, it sounds like it could be so just in case it is, I don't own it and seeing as how if I don't even own the chapter title, I definitely don't own hp or it's characters

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"So how was your night?" Lily asked Rachel as she walked into the dormitory. Lily, Melody, and Julie were in their usual spot on the floor recounting that night's events. 

"It was fun," Rachel told them as she sat down. "We danced a lot, we talked a bit, then we danced some more, and I only just got back. Did I mention that he asked me to be his girlfriend?"

"What?" The three girls yelped.

"I said no." Rachel said before the girls starting assuming anything else. "It just wouldn't have been fair. He deserves someone who is able to give her whole heart to him, not just half."

"It's because of Sirius isn't it?" Lily asked gently, already knowing the answer.

"I can't help it. I know he's a complete jerk but I still really like him. I can't explain it."

"The weird thing is that we've known Sirius since first year and he's never been like this. He would rarely go out with anyone, it was always just him and the guys, but having a new girl every week. . . that's just not like him. He's only gone out with one girl a year, if that." Julie said, looking perplexed at Sirius' sudden change in behavior.

"You know what, Jules is right. I hadn't thought about it but it's true. He's only gone out with three girls before this year. If he's acting out like this it's because you broke his heart or something Ray," Lily said half joking.

"Not even. His hormones probably just kicked in," Rachel said.

"Lily's right," Melody added, "he didn't start acting up until a day after he asked you out. Something had to happen between the day he asked you out, the next day, or the morning after that. . ."

"Guys are just weird, forget about it. Just tell me about your nights."

"There isn't much to say about mine. I went with Benjamin from Hufflepuff, but just as friends," Julie said.

"I had a great time with Remus. We're going steady now," Melody beamed.

"That's wonderful Mel! Remus is such a great guy. I'm really happy for both of you!" Rachel hugged Melody.

"Thanks, I'm thrilled about it. But I'm curious about Lily's night with the 'arrogant toerag'," Melody laughed.

"He was actually the perfect gentleman. He's changed so much this year, I don't even know what to think anymore," Lily said contemplatively.

"You know, Lily had a great time with you yesterday," Rachel told James on the train ride home.

"I'm glad. It was hard knowing what to do, but I had fun. I've heard about everyone's night except yours Padfoot," James said, turning to Sirius.

"It was fine, until Jaclyn got mad at me for dancing with Janice."

"Typical. Well, I'm going to go find Ryan. I'll be back," Rachel said as she got up.

"Right. Wouldn't want to keep _dear Ryan_ waiting," Sirius shot at her. Rachel stopped and turned to Sirius.

"What's that? I do believe I hear Jaclyn calling you," she shot back.

"Can't be, I'm not seeing her," Sirius said.

"So you just go around breaking hearts?" Rachel asked icily.

"No, I don't. You're the one who breaks hearts. You go out with one guy, get his hopes up, and then crush him when you end it. At least the girls I go out with know it's nothing serious from the start."

"I don't break any hearts either Black."

"Really?" Sirius asked sceptically. "What about Stanton?"

"We're not going out anymore. We're just friends," Rachel answered quietly as she walked out. James and Remus, who had been watching the exchange between them silently, laughed.

"She shut you up Padfoot," James sniggered. Sirius paid no attention to them. He was just relieved that Rachel was single now.

"What did she ever see in him in the first place?" Sirius asked James and Remus, coming out of his reverie.

"I suppose that he's Head Boy and stuff. That and he didn't ask her out only to leave her for another girl," Remus said nastily.

"Ouch. That's harsh," Sirius said.

"It's the truth," James agreed with Remus.

"I had my reasons," Sirius said defensively.

"They were probably bad ones too," James thought aloud.

"Fiona told me she heard Belle say that she was just playing with me," Sirius said, trying to justify himself.

"And you believed her?!" Remus asked incredulously. "You know she would do anything to go out with you, and you believed her?"

"Why do you think I ended it with her? I figured out she was lying."

"You're not that thick are you Padfoot? Why did you believe her in the first place?" James asked.

"Everything was just too perfect, something had to go wrong," Sirius continued to say defensively.

"Padfoot, Padfoot, Padfoot," Remus sighed.

"It doesn't matter anymore because she's not going out with anyone. I can get her back now."

"Right," James said, bored. "Who do you reckon will make it to the World Cup?"

"The United States of course!" Rachel grinned as she came into the compartment.

"In your dreams maybe," Remus laughed.

"So maybe they're not very good now, but they will be," Rachel answered, laughing along with the rest of them.

"You got back fast," Sirius commented, trying to sound friendly.

"I know, I just went to say bye before we got to the station."

"How sweet of you," James joked.

"Belle, before you go, I want you to meet my parents," James urged, pulling her through the crowd to where a tall, slim man stood next to a slightly shorter woman with beautiful hazel eyes.

"Mom, Dad, this is Rachel Evans," James introduced.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Potter. It's a pleasure to meet you." Rachel said.

"The pleasure is ours," Mr. Potter shook her hand.

Mrs. Potter embraced her. "We've heard a lot about you. It's wonderful to finally meet you dear," she said warmly.

"Hi son, how are you doing?" Mr. Potter asked Sirius, who was standing next to James.

"I'm fine sir," he answered, shaking Mr. Potter's hand.

"Glad to hear it."

"Oh Sirius dear," Mrs. Potter said, hugging him. "I'm happy to see you again." She addressed Sirius and Rachel. "I hope you two can visit us over the holiday. Where is Remus?"

"He left, his parents were in a hurry," James explained.

"Rachel!" came an angry voice behind her. "Get over here now!"

It was her father. He seemed to have worsened these past months. Rachel closed her eyes and willed herself to be patient.

"I have to go. It was nice meeting you," Rachel said hurriedly to Mr. and Mrs. Potter as she left.

"I said hurry! Where's your sister?" they heard Mr. Evan's angry voice.

"I don't know."

"I'm right here dad!" Lily said as she approached.

"Lily! I missed you!" he said as he hugged her. "Let's get going, your mother is waiting for you at home and she's making your favorite meal. I'll take your trunk, it must be heavy."

"It is. I'll help you with yours Ray, you get that end," Lily told Rachel.

"Let her carry her own trunk Lily."

"But Dad-" Lily began to protest.

"Just go wait in the car Lily," Mr. Evans said sternly. Lily shot Rachel an apologetic look before leaving.

"This is the last time I tell you to hurry up Rachel!" he shouted as he walked towards the barrier. Rachel was fuming at the injustice of it all. To make things worse, he was creating a scene.

"I'll help you with that," Sirius offered, coming to her aid.

Rachel looked at Sirius curiously. "Uh, thanks Padfoot, I appreciate it."

Mr. Evans turned to see where his daughter was. He didn't like what he saw.

"Who are you?" Mr. Evans spat at Sirius as he neared the pair.

"Sirius Black, sir. I'm-"

"You stay away from my daughter. She can carry her own trunk," he said menacingly.

"Rick!" Rachel implored. "Stop bei-"

"Don't challenge me. Now hurry up and carry your own damn trunk!"

_What has gotten him into such a foul mood? _Rachel wondered.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter saw what was happening and went to help her after her father had walked through the barrier. Rachel was so embarrassed.

"Rachel dear, if anything happens, you're more than welcome at our home." Mrs. Potter said understandingly as Mr. Potter pointed at Rachel's trunk with his wand and said,

"_Alleviatus_. There, your trunk will be light as a feather. Now hurry along before you get in any more trouble."

"Thank you all so much." Rachel turned to leave but Sirius grabbed her arm. "Keep in touch, will you?" his eyes pleaded.

"We have the mirrors," she said. What was he playing at?

"I'm sorry about how Dad acted over there," Lily apologized to Rachel that night before they went to bed.

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault he doesn't love me. It's not your fault he doesn't give a d-."

"It's not right though," Lily interrupted before Rachel cursed. "I wish I could do something about it."

"You can't so stop worrying. Just go to sleep." Rachel tried not to think about how miserable life there was and how she wished she go back to how things were when her mom was still alive. Sure she wouldn't have met Lily or any of her other friends, but she would have her old best friends, and her mom.

* * *

Sirius had a horrible reason for leaving her didn't he? Sorry it took so long to reveal. Let me know what you think, review please! 


	12. A Need to Escape

"Ray, what happened to your eye!" Severus asked Rachel as they sat in their usual spot at the park.

"Nothing," Rachel lied, trying to cover it with her hair.

"Stop lying. It was him wasn't it?"

"I talked back to him at the station yesterday. This is the first time he's ever hit me. I couldn't believe it," she said quietly, trying to hold in the tears.

"Didn't anyone try to stop him?"

"No one was home, they went to watch a movie, Rick didn't let them take me. If he does this again, I'm leaving," she told him resolutely.

"Let's hope it doesn't."

"I know. But enough about me, how are things with your dad?"

"Same as always," Severus replied, looking away.

"Sev, why doesn't you mom do anything about it? She's a witch! He's a muggle!"

"I know, I've asked the same thing but she doesn't want him to leave. She's afraid of being alone."

"Why don't you leave?"

"I can't leave her by herself Ray."

"I think you're worse off than I am."

Before either of them could answer, Lily came stumbling into the clearing, panting. "Ray, Dad's looking for you. He's really mad, we have to go. Hello Severus," she said, hardly acknowledging the boy.

"Bye Lily," he said sadly, knowing the girl would never reciprocate his feelings. "Good luck Rachel."

"I'll write to you, don't lose the parchment!" she called over her shoulder.

The day was cold and the snow stuck to the girl's boots as they rushed home. They found Rick sitting in the living room, waiting for them.

"Lily, Petunia, go to your rooms. Rachel, come here." They did as told without a second's hesitation.

"Where were you?" he asked Rachel.

"At the park," Rachel answered.

"With who?"

"No one."

"You expect me to believe that you weren't with the boy from the train station?" Rick asked fiercely.

"Yes, I do, especially since he lives at the other end of London. It would be awfully difficult for him to make the trip in a matter of minutes," Rachel said, not bothering to conceal her annoyance.

"Don't you take that tone with me young lady!"

"Rick, honey, please calm down," came Mrs. Evan's voice from the kitchen. "Dinner is almost ready. Let Rachel go wash up and we'll all eat in a bit."

"No. She will go to her room and she will not eat," he said doggedly.

"Rick-"

"I said no Tanya. Go to your room Rachel."

Rachel stormed out of the living room and went to the room she shared with Lily.

"I heard everything. I'll sneak you some food," Lily told Rachel, looking at her sorrowfully. Rachel nodded.

She loved Lily, but part of her couldn't help resent her a little. She had the perfect life: great friends, a loving family (excluding Petunia of course), a crowd of guys after her, excellent grades. Sure, Rachel had the same things, except the loving family. Lily hadn't had to suffer the death of her mother or the absence of her father. She didn't know what it was like to meet your father for the first time only to come to the realization that he hates you. Rachel lay in her bed thinking about her past, not bothering to wipe the tears rolling down her face. She let her mind travel back to a time when she still had her old friends and her mom, a time when her life was very much like Lily's.

This continued until Wednesday, that is, Rachel staying in her room while the others ate and Lily sneaking her food. She wasn't allowed out anymore either. She was forced to stay either inside or in the backyard.

_'I don't know how much longer I can take this Sev' _Rachel wrote to him that Wednesday night. The ink disappeared from the parchment and was replaced by Severus' answer.

_'It'll just be less than two weeks Ray. You can make it' _

She dipped her quill in the ink and wrote:

_'And what do I do when summer comes? What then?'_

_'It won't be too bad, you just have to wait until you're __seventeen'_

_'I suppose. I have to go. He's calling me again'_

"Yes Rick?" Rachel asked as she stepped into the living room.

"You've been stealing food from the kitchen."

"No I haven't."

"Then how do you explain this?" he asked showing her the plate she had eaten from that morning.

"I don't know. It's not mine though if that's what you're thinking," she lied.

"Don't lie to me!" he shouted, slapping her so hard she fell. She could smell the alcohol on him, he was beyond drunk. She made to get up but he kicked her; she recoiled in pain.

"You ungrateful brat! I take you in and give you a home-"

"You're my father!" she shouted back. "You should have done that since I was born!" She knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say but she couldn't stop herself, her bitterness was too much to keep in. He kicked her in the ribs again and she heard a crack which was followed by horrible pain. Rick went to sit on the couch and turned on the TV as if nothing happened. Rachel managed to get up and walk to her room where she reached for the parchment she had been using earlier.

_'Sev,'_ she wrote, _'I need your help. I'm hurt, meet me at my window as soon as possible'_

It took about a minute for Severus to respond, 'On my way'

Rachel began packing everything into her trunk. She remembered Mrs. Potter's offer but had no idea how she was going to get there. What she did know what that she had to get away. By the time she finished packing and writing a letter explaining everything to Lily, Severus was at her window.

"What's wrong?" he whispered, seeing her clutching her side.

"I think he broke my ribs. Help me get my trunk out," she said as she tried to hoist it. The spell Mr. Potter had placed on it hadn't worn off but it was hard for Rachel to lean over and lift it without hurting herself. Severus grabbed hold of it and pulled it out with ease, then helped Rachel climb out.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"They went out; Rick is the only one inside. I have to get out of here before he finds out." she said, panic in her voice.

"Where will you go? It's almost ten at night."

Rachel hesitated. "James' house."

"You're going to stay with Potter?" Severus asked, disgust evident in his voice.

"What other choice do I have? He'll probably kill me if I stay here," Rachel said, exasperated.

"Fair enough, I suppose. Do you have a way to get there?"

"No," Rachel sighed.

"Then you'll have to take the Knight Bus. Have you any gold?"  
"Yeah, what's the Knight Bus?"

"It'll get you where you need to go. Do you know where Potter lives and do you have all your things?" Severus asked. Rachel nodded. "Then you're all set," he said as he stuck his wand out with his right hand. A huge, purple bus appeared out of nowhere.

"Thank you so much for everything Sev," Rachel said as she gave him a hug. "I'll keep in touch. Take care of yourself."

"You too," he said, sad to see her go.

* * *

So I hope you all liked it, please let me know! My computer has been acting up lately, I think it hates me, lol, so I might not be able to update for a while. That and I have so much homework to do before Christmas break, but I'll try to get the next chapter up in a couple of days.

Sadly, Severus is hopelessly in love with Lily and only sees Rachel as a friend. As for Ryan. . . I think he's taking it okay, I feel really bad for him though, he's such a sweetheart!! As always, I am eternally thankful for all your reviews!


	13. Sorry Isn't Enough

Okay, so you'll never believe me, but the first half of the chapter got deleted! I have no idea how but it was gone (told you my computer hated me, hehehe). So I had to retype it and I hadn't written it down so I had to do it from memory and it took me forever, which is why it took me longer to post it. . . so now that it's up, enjoy! And sorry for any mistakes, I did this in a hurry

* * *

The Knight Bus was empty except for a tired looking witch and the conductor. Rachel paid fourteen sickles and took a seat by the window. The train was going so fast that everything was a blur like the emotions in Rachel's heart. The same questions circled in her head: Why did he hate her so much? Why would he hurt her? Did he ever feel guilty about it? 

Her thoughts were interrupted by the conductor. "We're almost at Godric's Hollow miss," he said.

Rachel thanked him and pulled out her mirror. "Prongs," she called into it. He didn't respond. "Prongs!" she said a little louder.

"Belle?" What's up?" he asked. He had a mischievous smile on his face as if he had just been plotting something and Rachel could just make someone out behind him.

"I need your help. Would you come outside?"

"Outside? Of my house?" James asked, looking perplexed.

"Prongs, just please do it!" Rachel said, grimacing in pain as she tried to pull her trunk. The conductor saw her struggling and helped her take it out.

"Thank you," she told him.

"No problem," he responded. The Knight Bus took off and faded into the night.

"Belle? What are you doing here?" came Sirius and James' surprised voices.

"I ran away."

"What's wrong?" James asked, seeing Rachel holding her side.

"Broken ribs. Can we go inside?"

"Oh, right, sorry. Padfoot, grab her trunk will you?" James said as he helped Rachel inside and sat her on the couch.

"Mom! Dad!" he called out. Mr. and Mrs. Potter came rushing downstairs.

"What's- Rachel? Is everything okay?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"No. I'm really sorry to intruding. What happened?" Mr. Potter asked.

"She has broken ribs dad," James answered for her.

"Broken ribs? How on earth did that happen?"

Rachel looked at each of them in turn. All of her frustration, anger, and pain came out in a torrent of tears. Sirius rushed to her side and comforted her. Rachel was able to calm down enough to tell them about how Rick had hit her for talking back at the train station and how he thought she had been with Sirius so he didn't let her go out or eat.

"But Lily would sneak me some food. It worked until today. He found out and slapped me. I fell and he kicked me, the second one did the damage," she sniffed.

"Oh dear. You can stay as long as you need to dear. I'm going to fetch my wand," Mrs. Potter said.

"I'll go get a sleeping potion," Mr. Potter said.

"Are you going back?" James asked her.

"No, I ran away for good."

"Welcome to the club, I ran away too," Sirius said quietly.

"I'm sorry. Why did you leave?" Rachel asked.

"I was just tired of them. That and they wanted me to marry my cousin Bellatrix."

"That's terrible," Rachel said.

"Yeah, but oh well." They were quiet for a second.

"How did you get away?" James asked.

"I called Sev."

"You called Snivellus!?" Sirius and James asked in disgust.

"He saved my life. You'd do well in thanking him," Rachel said angrily. "Which reminds me, I have to let him know I'm okay."

"What is that?" James asked, pointing at the piece of parchment Rachel pulled out of her pocket.

"It's a piece of parchment that Sev and I enchanted a couple of days ago. It's how we communicate." she answered and then wrote:

_'Sev, I'm at James' house. I just wanted to let you know I made it safely.'_

_'I'm glad to hear it' _came Severus' reply.

"Can I write something?" Sirius asked.

"No," Rachel answered.

"It's nothing bad," Sirius said.

Rachel looked at him suspiciously. "Okay, but it better not be anything bad."

Sirius took the piece of parchment and wrote:

_'Er, hi Snape. It's Sirius Black. I, er, wanted to thank you for helping Rachel earlier. I really appreciate it.'_

_'What are you playing at Ray?' _Severus replied angrily.

_'It's really him Sev, he wanted to thank you.' _Rachel wrote back. This time Severus addressed Sirius:

_'Don't expect us to be friends Black.'_

_'I don't, I just wanted to say thanks.' _Sirius replied. He was surprised at Snape's reaction, he expected him to. . . well he's not sure what he expected but it wasn't that.

The next morning Rachel awoke to find a stag prodding her with its prongs and a dog licking her face.

"Alright, alright! I'm awake," she groaned, sitting up.

"How are you feeling?" Sirius asked once he was back to normal.

"I feel great actually!" Rachel said, feeling her ribs.

"Excellent. Now you can down to breakfast," James said.

"Mmm, breakfast sounds good right now," Rachel said thoughtfully.

"C'mon then, let's get downstairs," James insisted as Sirius pulled her out of bed.

"I'm coming. What time is it?" she asked, straightening up.

"Almost ten," Sirius answered.

Even though it was snowing outside, the house was warm. Rachel looked down at her pyjamas; she was wearing a brown tank top with matching Tinker Bell pants and slipper socks. She was about to change when she realized that the boys were also in pyjamas.

"This tastes great Mrs. Potter," Rachel said, serving herself more.

"I'm glad you like it," she smiled warmly. "Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I have some things I need to buy at Diagon Alley. Will you three be okay alone?"

"I don't want you going by yourself mom," James told her.

"Don't be silly James. I'll be fine."

"No mom, I'm serious."

"I'll go with you Mrs. Potter. I have to buy some things too and I would love to see Diagon Alley," Rachel offered.

"Oh my, you've never been to Diagon Alley? It's settled then. The two of us will go shopping as soon as you're ready Rachel," Mrs. Potter declared.

"Is it safe for you two to go by yourselves?" Sirius asked.

"Of course dear."

The pair walked around for hours buying gifts and looking at all the new things in the window shops. Rachel loved Diagon Alley, there were so many things to look at that she figured she'd have to come some other time to finish.

"Now that we have everything we need, why don't we stop by Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and have a snack?" Mrs. Potter suggested.

"Sounds great! I love ice cream, even if it's cold out."

The two ladies walked into the parlour and ordered. Someone gently grabbed hold of Rachel's hand as she was about to pay.

"This is on me Florean," the owner of the hand said as he paid.

Rachel turned and found herself face to face with "Ryan!"

"Hi Rachel," he greeted.

"Hi!" she gave him a big hug. "Look, thanks for paying but-"

"Please just accept it, from one friend to another."

"Thank you. By the way, this is Mrs. Potter. Mrs. Potter, this is Ryan Stanton."

"Stanton?" a dark look flitted across Mrs. Potter's face so quickly that Rachel reckoned she imagined it. "Nice to meet you Ryan. How do you two know each other?" she asked, taking the ice cream from Florean.

"We went out for a while. As a matter of fact, Rachel gave me the honour of being my partner for the Yule Ball."

"How delightful," Mrs. Potter said.

"It truly was. But I have to go, lots to do. It was a pleasure meeting you Mrs. Potter."

"Likewise," she said, shaking his hand.

"Bye Ray, see you at school," he said, giving her a quick hug.

"Bye Ryan."

Mrs. Potter and Rachel took a seat inside the shop.

"You and Ryan went out?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"Yes, but it wasn't for very long, and we aren't any more."

"I'm glad dear, for two reasons. The first is that the Stanton's have a bad name, like the Malfoys."  
"Or the Blacks?" Rachel asked.

"Yes."

"So maybe he's like Sirius then. . . I mean, he's in Ravenclaw, not Slytherin."

"I suppose he could be, but I don't trust him, and you should be careful."

"I will Mrs. Potter. What's the second reason?"

At this, a smile spread on Mrs. Potter's face. "Well, I know it isn't my business, but I would love to see you and Sirius together."

Rachel swallowed the ice cream in her mouth so fast she got brain freeze.  
"Me and Sirius?"

"I see the way he looks at you. He fancies you Rachel, and unless I am mistaken, I think you do too."

"How was it?" James asked when his mother and Rachel returned home.

"It was cool! There were so many stores and Florean's ice cream was so good!" Rachel said excitedly.

"You went to Florean's and didn't bring us any?" James complained to his mom.

"Stop James, I didn't buy it. We met a friend of Rachel's and he bought it for us."

"Oh really?" Sirius asked interestedly. "Who was this friend Belle?"

Rachel knew what he was thinking, and for some reason it angered her. She remembered how he left her for Fiona and was furious that he had the nerve to question her. Mrs. Potter left the kitchen to start dinner.

"Ryan Stanton," she said defiantly.

"So are you two still going out then?" he asked.

"What's it to you?"

"What is your problem?"

"You are! If you think you can leave me for some other girl and then interrogate me about my business with other guys than you're wrong!" she said fiercely.

"I didn't mean to-"

"But you did! And now you want to act like it never happened! Well it did, and you haven't even bothered to apologize!" She yelled, storming up to her room.

"We were getting along just fine yesterday. What happened?" Sirius asked, flabbergasted.

"Women, who knows? But she has a point mate. You haven't apologized have you?"

"No, but where would I even begin?"

"You're asking the wrong person. Let's ask Moony." James said, pulling out his mirror and walking over to Sirius so he too could see.

"Moony," he called into the mirror.

"What?" Remus' face appeared in the mirror, looking groggy.

"Were you sleeping?" James asked.

"Yes. I'm still tired from the full moon last night," he answered rather grumpily.

"Oh, sorry but we need your advice." Sirius launched into an explanation of what had happened with Rachel. When he was done, Moony sighed.

"She's mad."

"Couldn't have figured that one out ourselves," James muttered.

Remus shot him a dirty look. "Even if you were getting along before," he said to Sirius, "she probably remembered what you did when she saw Ryan and it upset her. Of course it doesn't help that you haven't apologized yet."

"So that's all I have to do? Apologize?"

"No. An apology won't make what you did go away. It'll take a while for her to be able to trust you again. Just start by apologizing, but make it sweet. I know you Padfoot, you think saying sorry is enough but if you want her, show her you care, make a gesture."

"Like what?"

"I'm not going to make it easy for you. Think of something on your own. If you care about Belle as much as you say you do, then prove it with actions, not words. And don't help him Prongs."

"That's a bit much, don't you think?" Sirius asked.

"Shut it Padfoot, you'd better give her your best," James said.

"You're right," Sirius said after some thought, "thanks Moony, I appreciate the help."

"When are you coming over Moony?" James asked.

"I'll try to make it on Sunday," Remus said.

"All right. We'll see you on the 26th then," Sirius confirmed.

"Count on it," Remus said in farewell, and then his face was gone.

"I have an idea," Sirius said, turning to James, "but I need your help."

"You heard what Moony said," James said unenthusiastically.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. This is different though," Sirius said. He explained his plan to James.

"That's brilliant! I guess you're not a complete buffoon when it comes to girls after all!"

"Thanks," Sirius said sardonically.

"Sorry mate. So when do you want to do this?"

"Tomorrow."

"But that's Christmas Eve."

"I know, we'll do it in the morning."

"Prongs, where are we going?" Rachel asked as James tugged on her arm leading her to a nearby shop. They were in a small shopping centre near Godric's Hollow. Sirius had gone with them but claimed to be bored and walked back to James' house.

"You'll see. I need you to help me choose a gift for Lily."

"Ah, I should have known," Rachel smiled.

After shopping for about half and hour they found a beautiful diary to replace the one Petunia had stolen from Lily and read. The cover was jade green velvet with decorative lilies on it. The best thing about it was that only the owner could read what it said, to anyone else it just appeared blank.

"This is perfect!"

"I agree. Let's go pay for it and get back. I'm hungry," James said, his stomach growling on cue. Rachel chuckled as they made their way home. When they reached James' house they found Sirius sitting on the couch, reading a Quidditch book. He looked up at the sound of their footsteps.

"Did you find a gift for Lily?" he asked.

"Yeah, here," James said, handing him the gift and exchanging a significant glance unnoticed by Rachel.

"I'm going to go put this away and then we can try making lunch," James announced, he turned to Rachel "coming?"

"Mmhmm," she mumbled, following him up the stairs.

When Rachel reached her bedroom, she stopped. Hadn't she left the door open? She shook off any trepidation she had, opened the door. . . and gasped.

* * *

Thank you all for reading! I'm going to Mexico on vacation for a few days so I'll try posting the next chapter before then, but if not I'm really sorry! And I'm thinking about killing Rick, muwahaha! but I'm not sure if I will / review please! 


	14. Who Would Do Such A Thing?

The curtains were drawn, letting no light inside and there were candles and tulips floating all around her room. They were the most beautiful tulips she'd ever seen and they were in her favourite colour, blue. Rachel looked around, amazed. She was startled by a voice at the door.

"I'm sorry Rachel, I'm sorry about everything. I've been such a prat and I owe you an explanation, if you're willing to listen."

Sirius stood at the doorway uncertainly. Rachel only stared, unable to speak. She wanted to keep hating him, to ignore his attempts to be on good terms, but she couldn't. He looked so handsome standing there, his hair falling about his eyes, his muscles visible through his t-shirt. She especially couldn't stay mad at him after this.

"I'm willing to listen," Rachel said quietly. He walked over to her and took her hands in his. She had half a mind to pull away but that's when she met his gaze, his grey eyes full of emotion, though which emotion Rachel wasn't sure.

"Well, the day after I asked you out, Fiona told me she had heard you saying you were just playing with me. I know-" Sirius held his hand up when he saw Rachel's outraged expression "-it was dumb of me to have believed her, but I just. . . remember when I told you everything was too perfect? Well, I was expecting something to happen and ruin it all. When Fiona said that, I just. . . I'm sorry." He stroked her cheek but Rachel turned away.

"You could have talked to me about it, or at least not have gone out with her."

"You're absolutely right, and I can't apologize enough. But please Ray, forgive me. I- I miss our friendship."

At this, Rachel looked at him. His honesty surprised her. When she looked in his eyes she could see his sincerity staring at her. Her resolve weakened.

"I do too," she whispered.

"Does this mean we're putting the past behind us?"

"That's exactly what it means."

Sirius held her close and let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure what he would have done if Rachel had refused, but he didn't have to worry about that; he was getting a second chance with her.

"WAKE UP EVERYONE! IT'S CHRISTMAS!" James bellowed that morning, running from room to room rousing everyone. They woke up reluctantly and went down stairs to eat and open presents. They spent a most enjoyable morning together after which Mr. and Mrs. Potter went out to lunch together.

"We'll be back for dinner. Behave yourselves," Mrs. Potter said.

"Wouldn't dream of doing anything bad," Sirius grinned.

Mr. Potter laughed. "Those words coming from you, Sirius, really put me at ease."

Not too long after Mr. and Mrs. Potter left two letters arrived for Rachel. She opened the first one and read it aloud.

_Rachel,_

_I found your note, and I'm so sorry for what happened. Dad has been drinking a lot lately according to Mom and I guess he just took it out on you. I'm glad James was able to take you in and I hope that you're happier over there than you were here. Dad is really mad so avoid meeting him at Platform 9 3/4. I'll keep in touch and I'll see you at Hogwarts._

_Always,_

_Lily_

"Well that sucks. This second one is from my friends." Rachel opened that envelope and also read it aloud.

_What's up Belle?_

_It's us again. We just wanted to let you know that we will be in London for New Years because my dad wants to visit his sister who happens to live close to where you're at. We persuaded Steven's parents to let him come with, so your Christmas present will be seeing us! What more could you ask for? (hahaha) We'll keep you posted; we really want to see you again._

_And I want to meet this Sirius Black! And your new friends._

_Ignore Steve, he's being a little overprotective. See you soon and write back. We still haven't gotten a response to our last letter (tear). Take care!_

_Your friends,_

_Adam and Steven_

"Oh my gosh!" Rachel squealed. "They're coming here!"

"Why does Steven want to meet me?" Sirius asked Rachel, re-reading the letter.

"Probably because I told him about you. Why does New Years have to be so far away?" Rachel complained.

"It's only a week away. Is Adam's aunt a witch?" James asked.

"Probably, his dad is a pureblood. They probably think I'm still at Lily's though! I'll have to write to them later. You have to meet them, you'll really get along." Rachel rambled on, thrilled at the prospect of seeing her friends again.

Sirius couldn't help but be a bit jealous, of Steven especially. He had a feeling that there was something between him and Rachel, he would have to ask her later.

"I'm sure we will, maybe Remus, Lily, and the girls can come over when your friends do," James suggested.

"If Rick lets her." The doorbell rang.

"Wonder who that is," James said as he walked to the door.

"Take your wand, smart!" Rachel called, handing him his wand.

"Why? It's not like we can use magic," James said, taking it anyway.

"You can in emergencies. Can't be too careful," Rachel said.

"Good point," he said, opening the door.

"Moony!" Sirius exclaimed, surprised to him. Rachel ran to Remus and hugged him.

"Good to see you mate, but I thought you couldn't come today?" James asked.

"I thought so too," Remus said as they all sat in the living room, "but it's tomorrow that I can't come so I thought I would stop by for a while."

"Excellent," Sirius said.

They talked for a bit and then began a game of exploding snap. They stopped after about an hour which is when James and Sirius decided to try to make lunch for them all.

"I hope they don't blow up the house," Rachel said after hearing a loud crash in the kitchen.

"Same here, last time they cooked it sounded like they were having a war against the kitchen," Remus chuckled.

"Figures. Moony, I want to talk to you about something."

"Or someone?" Remus gave her a knowing smile.

"You should be a Seer. As always, you're right, it's Sirius." Rachel explained everything that had happened between the two of them the last couple of days.

"So you think he's not being sincere?" Remus asked.

"I'm not sure what to think."

"I see. Well, I'm sure he meant everything he said. He cares about you Belle. Even when he went out with Fiona he still fancied you, he was just misled. Take it for what it is and see where it leads you two this time," Remus advised.

"Thanks Moony, I don't know what I would do without you."

"I know, who can live without me?" Remus said jokingly. Rachel just laughed.

It turned out that Sirius and James were rather good when it came to cooking. They had a delicious lunch of ham, mashed potatoes, and a side of vegetables. They spent a couple of more hours together after which Remus had to leave, but he promised to come back when Rachel's friends arrived. Later that night after eating dinner Sirius walked to Rachel's room. Her door was open and he cleared his throat to let her know he was there.

"Oh hi Padfoot, come in," Rachel said.

"I just wanted to give you this," Sirius said, handing her a wrapped gift. Rachel looked at it. She had wondered why she hadn't received gift from him, but now she knew why; he had waited for the right moment. She took the small parcel and unwrapped it. Inside was a beautiful medium sized locket, silver with a scene of a sunny beach embossed on it; it reminded her of home. She opened it and saw a picture of her mother.

"I asked Lily if you had left any pictures of your mom at her house and she found this one," Sirius explained.

Rachel looked up at him, her eyes watery, her voice no more than a whisper. "I thought I had lost it, the picture I mean. Sirius, this is- this is wonderful. I don't know how I could ever thank you, I love it," she told him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He held her in his arms. "This is all the thanks I need," he whispered in her ear.

* * *

I'm leaving in a bit and I'm in a total hurry but I wanted to post this before I did so hope you like it and please review! 


	15. Whiskers and Bandit

The next couple of days passed slowly for Rachel as tends to happen when something enjoyable is expected. But the 31st finally came, and Rachel woke up earlier than usual, unable to contain her excitement. Her friends said they would be at James' around eleven, by the time Rachel finished getting ready it was ten fifty. She sat in the living room and talked with James, Sirius, and Remus, who had arrived earlier with his parents.

"Prongs, are you still on about Lily not coming?" Rachel asked.

"Yes! This is the first time she's ever wanted to come but her dad wouldn't let her! How unfair is that?"

"I suppose he wanted her to be with family, same with Melody and Julie," Remus said.

"Speaking of Melody," Sirius grinned, "how are things going?"

"Fine," was all Remus would say.

"Oh come on! Have you even kissed her yet?" James asked.

Remus blushed. "Don't worry about it."

"You have!" Sirius shouted.

"I didn't say that."

"So you haven't," James stated.

"I didn't say that either."

"Leave him alone you two, stop being nosy," Rachel said, smiling slightly. Remus was so shy and these guys were always prying in his business with girls.

"Were not being nosy, we're just curious!" James said, a ridiculous grin on his face.

"Same thing," Remus said.

"Is not," James said.

"Is too, curious just sounds nicer," Remus said.

"No it's not. Nosy is what girls are, curiosity is innocent," Sirius put in.

"Girls aren't the only nosy ones, guys are too, and it's the same as being curious." Rachel argued.

"No, nosy is to pry, curious is an innocent eagerness to know," Sirius said.

"Sorry dictionary," Rachel laughed.

"Still the same thing," Remus muttered.

"I'll get it!" Rachel exclaimed at the sound of the doorbell, but Mr. Potter stopped her.

"You stay here, I'll get it Rachel, can't be too careful these days."

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting about that," Rachel said as she sat back down. The Ministry of Magic had been warning the wizarding world to take certain precautions against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. They seemed to be gaining more power with every passing day.

Rachel was nervous and excited, she couldn't keep still. She looked at Sirius and their eyes met for a second; Rachel gave him a smile and looked away. Things had been going well between them, it was like when they used to get along and Rachel was glad of it. She still liked him, a lot, but she wasn't sure about how he felt, she wasn't really sure about anything now. The week that had passed had been relaxing, all they did was lounge around and eat or play games but Sirius hadn't tried anything, he hadn't done anything to show that he wanted her as more than a friend. It just made Rachel wonder.

James and Remus were talking about Quidditch when the boys walked in.

"Adam! Steven!" Rachel cried, running to hug them.

"Belle!" Steven spun her around and was reluctant to let her go.

"I really missed you," Adam told her as he squeezed her and kissed her forehead (Sirius scowled at this).

"I missed you too. Hi Dad!" Rachel greeted Adam's father and gave him a small hug.

"Ray, it's good too see you again. How are you doing?" Mr. Jones asked.

"Fine," she smiled.

"I'm glad. We'll talk later though because I'm sure you want to catch up with the boys," he winked and then followed Mr. Potter to the kitchen with the rest of the adults.

"Steve, Adam, I want you to meet James, Sirius, and Remus." Rachel acquainted them with each other and the three sat down on the only other empty couch.

Sirius looked Steven over and decided he wasn't much competition.

"Did you all have a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas?" Steven asked.

"We had a nice Christmas, but we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here," James said.

"That's right huh! I didn't think about it before but it makes sense."

"That means you don't celebrate the Fourth of July either right?" Adam asked.

"Right, they would hardly celebrate us declaring independence from them and then starting a revolution," Rachel giggled.

"But that means no big fireworks or hamburgers and hot dogs with soda and French-fries. . . nothing," Steven said almost sadly.

"I'm going to miss that," Rachel said.

No one said anything so Steven broke the silence. "How did you meet Rachel?"

"Oh, we met on the Hogwarts express-" James began.

"-It's how we get to school here," Rachel interrupted.

"How do you three know each other?" Remus asked them.

"Oh we've known each other since we were little. My parents are good friends with Adam's dad," Steven said.

"And my dad and. . ." Adam hesitated at this, "and Belle's mom were engaged." Adam was just as hurt about losing Natalia as Rachel was. He had no mother and she was the closest thing to one he had ever known.

Rachel looked away at this. She had been so excited when her mom announced that she was engaged to Mike Jones. It meant that she would have a real family at last. Adam was already like a brother to her and Mike a father but the two getting married made it more real; her mom would have been so happy. Steven noticed Rachel's far off gaze and put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

It didn't go unnoticed by Sirius and if looks could kill, Steven would be dead.

"The rest is history, they corrupted me and that's why I love pranks," Rachel said. She had noticed Sirius' death glare and decided to stand up and lighten up the tension. "Why don't we play a game?"

"Like what?" Adam asked.

"Do you two play Quidditch?" James asked. The boys nodded.

"Then let's play, three on three. I have extra brooms," James said.

"Sounds good to me," Adam said, "What are the teams? Starlight vs. Hogwarts?"

"No," Rachel said, "I think we should switch it up. How about James, Remus, and Steven against Adam, Sirius, and me?"

"No, how about Steven, Sirius, and me against Adam, James, and Belle?" Remus suggested. He too had noticed Sirius' death glare. Rachel knew what Remus was trying to do but she wondered if putting them on the same team was the best idea.

"That's fine, I'll get the brooms. Where's yours Padfoot?" James asked.

"It's under my bed," Sirius said.

"I'll be back. I have to get my broom too," Rachel said, following James upstairs.

When James and Rachel were out of earshot of the others, Sirius turned to Steven. "So. . . you and Belle. . ."

"What about us?"

"Was there anything between you two before?"

"Well, yeah, we went out for a couple of months last school year but we ended it when she found out that she was coming over here. We figured the distance would eventually get to us but every time we see each other the fire just rekindles, you know?"

"Shut up Steve. Don't listen to him Sirius, he's just playing. They went out in the beginning of fifth year but they ended it after about a month because they were better off as friends. There's no 'rekindling fire' or anything, he's just messing with you," Adam assured him.

Steven burst out laughing. "I'm sorry dude, I just wanted to see your reaction. You should have seen your face!"

Adam smacked him on the head and turned to Remus and Sirius. "Steve has an interesting sense of humour, don't you little Whiskers?"

"Whiskers?" Remus asked. Steven's eyes were wide in shock. Adam wasn't supposed to tell them that!

"Yup, Whiskers. Belle said she told you about us. Steve named Rachel Belle so she named him Whiskers since he's a leopard cub."

"Not only is your name Whiskers but you're a leopard _cub_, how lame is that?" Sirius laughed.

"Hey, I'll have you know the ladies love leopard cubs!"

"Too bad it's the cub they want and not you," Rachel joked. She and James had just entered the living room and handed out the brooms. The group burst out laughing and Steven feigned hurt.

"Aww Whiskers, you know I'm just kidding!" Rachel said, giving him a hug.

"All right, all right, let's go outside," Sirius ushered, wanting to separate the two.

It's funny how sports have the ability to make people bond. The group of six played Quidditch for about an hour after which it started snowing. Remus and Rachel had to talk the rest of the group into going inside because they wanted to finish the game despite the freezing weather.

"We could have won if we had kept playing," Steven grumbled as they all sat by the fire drinking the tea Mrs. Potter had made.

"I'm sure," Rachel laughed, but stopped suddenly, a thought occurring in her head. "Did you guys find out anything more about my mom?"

Steven and Adam exchanged glances. Sirius, James, and Remus kept quiet.

"I don't think we should-"

"Just tell me Adam."

"He's right, we really shouldn't-"

"Steven! Just tell me."

"No, it's the holidays, why ruin it with this?" Steven said.

"I need to know!"

"Stop being a brat Rachel, we'll tell you about it some other time. I'm sure your friends don't want their holiday ruined." Steven insisted.

"So I'm a brat now am I?" Rachel stood up, her temper rising.

"I call it as I see it," Steven shot back, also standing up.

"Hey, both of you sit down, now." Adam told them. "Rachel, I understand that you want to know but it just isn't the best idea. And Steven, even if she is acting like a brat, calling her out on it isn't going to help the situation."

"You two fight like an old married couple," James chortled.

"No, they fight like brother and sister," Sirius said pointedly. Adam, James, and Remus laughed.

"Adam, please," Rachel said, pleading with her eyes.

"It's for your own good Ray." _She's so stubborn_, Adam thought to himself.

"It's my mom Adam. I need to know. Please."

Adam thought about it for a second. "Fine. It definitely was murder, but Voldemort didn't do it directly. It was one of his followers but I only heard the last name. . . Stanton."

Sirius choked on his tea. "Stanton? Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Steven answered.

"Positive?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, why?" Adam asked, seeing Rachel's shocked expression.

"I went out with a Ryan Stanton."

"I'm sure there's more than one Stanton family," Adam reasoned.

"Maybe, but I think we're talking about the same Stanton family here," James said.

"What makes you think that?" Rachel asked.

"Because the Stanton family has a dark reputation," Remus answered.

"That's exactly what your mom told me, James," Rachel commented.

"Well she's right," James said.

"But maybe he's like you, Padfoot, in that he doesn't agree with his family? I mean, he's in Ravenclaw, not Slytherin." Rachel said, not wanting to believe it.

"Maybe, but I don't know. . . do you know why they killed her?" James asked Adam and Steven.

"They're not sure, but they have a couple of theories. Either she was involved with them somehow and tried to get away, or she had something they wanted, or you have something they want," Steven said.

"But none of those make sense, we were in California, how would they even know about us? We were so far, how could they know if we had something they wanted?" Rachel asked.

"That's what we wondered too," Adam said, "so we dug around and it turns out that your mom used to live here before she went to the States."

"What? No she didn't, she would have told me."

"Not if she had something to hide," Adam pushed playing devil's advocate.

"She was not involved in anything." Rachel said stubbornly, her anger was rising.

"I'm sorry Belle, you're right. It's just, so much about her is coming to the surface now, it makes you wonder. . ." Adam said.

"How do you two know so much about it?" Remus asked.

"My dad, he works in the Ministry over there," Steven explained.

"Really?" James asked, interested.

"Mmhmm."

"Do you think Belle is in any serious danger?" James asked.

"I don't know, maybe. Or maybe she's in as much danger as anyone else is living here in the home front," Adam said.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Rachel said, running upstairs.

Both Steven and Sirius made to follow her, but Adam held Steven back.

"She's his girl now," he said. Steven sat back down and Sirius nodded his thanks.

* * *

I hope you all had a great Christmas! This is your present from me ; ) hope you liked it! I didn't mention it in this chapter and I'm not sure I will but Adam is a ferret (just because I love ferrets) and his nickname is Bandit, but they stopped using nicknames mostly because Steven hates being Whiskers (hehehe) but also to draw attention away from their secret while they're at school.They still call Rachel Belle at times because it's a normal name, they switch off.

About James being a chaser, I had no idea and sorry. For some reason I could have sworn he was a seeker. . . maybe it was in the movie or I just assumed it because Harry is, but oh well.

As always, I thank all the readers and reviewers and I'm so thrilled that you actually like it! In case I don't update soon, have a Happy New Year!!


	16. Together Once Again

Yeah, Adam is Bandit. His animagus is a ferret and they're known for stealing so I figured Bandit would be a fitting name. Starlight is located in a secluded grassland so it wouldn't be strange to see either a leopard or a ferret wandering around.

* * *

Sirius found Rachel in the restroom, washing her mouth. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just got sick. I'm fine."

Sirius wasn't buying it. "Talk to me Belle. What's wrong?"

"I'm just. . . thinking. She's gone and I don't know why, and what they're saying. . . I don't know what to believe. My head is throbbing. I'm going to take a nap," Rachel said, walking to her room.

Sirius followed. "But you're going to miss the count down to the New Year."

"Honestly, the holidays aren't all that great for me anymore. It's not the same without her."

"I understand. Can I stay with you until you fall asleep?"

Rachel looked at him. "I guess yeah, but you'll have to wait outside until I finish changing."

"Okay." He walked out of the room.

He thought about the information Steven and Adam had given them. This was like something out of the muggle movies he had seen, except this was real, and Rachel was real. He didn't know how he had grown to care about her so much; he used to hate her. Sure he thought she was attractive when he first met her but that wasn't enough to detract from the fact that she had come between the Marauders! After getting to know her though, she wasn't that bad. And now. . . well now he couldn't really stop thinking about her.

Rachel opened the door, interrupting his thoughts. "You can come in now."

She slipped under the covers while Sirius brought a chair over by the bed. Neither of them said anything for a while, both apparently lost in thought.

"I read a book once," Rachel began, "and it was a great story, until I finished it. It had a bad ending, horrible. I remember thinking that it should have had a happy ending because there are enough sad endings in real life. But I guess the author ended it the way she did because she wanted it to be real, and life doesn't really have happily ever after does it?"

Sirius looked into her eyes and saw deep sorrow in them, but beneath the sorrow he saw life, and even a glimmer hope. How could someone with that within them say something so pessimistic and depressing?

"Life is what you make of it Belle. Sure bad things happen, but don't allow the rocks of life to crush you. You're stronger than that, and I know that right now you're hurting, but it won't be that way forever. I promise. Your life will have a happy ending."

"Like my mom's?"

"You don't know that it was a sad ending."

"She was killed."

"She was, but I'm sure she's happy now. And I know she would want you to be too. She would hate to be the cause of such pain in you."

"Can my life really have a happy ending with Voldemort running around? Can any of our lives?"

"I don't have all the answers Belle, but what I can tell you is that you can make the most of the time you have now. Don't worry, don't fret, and don't let life get you down."

"How am I supposed to make the most of the time I have now?"

"I can think of one way," Sirius said, bringing his lips to Rachel's in a deep, sweet kiss.

When Sirius finally pulled away, he looked bashful. "I'm sorry, that was too forward of me."

"No, I- it's okay, don't fret," Rachel smiled.

"Belle- Rachel, do you think- would you like to start the New Year as a couple?"

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"So, word around the campfire is that you and Sirius are official now," Mr. Jones commented. He joined Rachel who was sitting near the fire while everyone else was eating. It was about two in the morning and she had just woken up.

"Yeah, he asked me a couple of hours ago before I took a nap," Rachel said, grinning.

"Is he good to you?"

"Of course Dad! I wouldn't be with someone who wasn't," Rachel assured him.

"Good girl. But how are you doing Ray? No lies."

Rachel sighed, she knew he was referring to her mother. "It hurts, really bad sometimes, but I think I'm going to be okay. How about you?"

"I'm doing okay too. It was hard losing her, like with my first wife. I'm starting to think that love isn't for me."

Rachel remembered that his wife had died giving birth to Adam. That's why he never had a mom until he met Rachel's, just as Rachel never had a father until she met Mr. Jones. It must have been hard for Adam, but more so for Mr. Jones, he had lost not one love but two.

"Don't say that, it's not true."

There was silence as both stared into nothingness, both thinking of that tragic day.

"I tried to adopt you, to keep you with Adam and me, but they wouldn't let me. In her will, your mother seemed to think it was for the best, though I have no idea why. If I had known your father would treat you the way he did, I would have tried to do more about it, fought harder against you leaving. You're like the daughter I never had Rachel, and to know that that man hurt you and I did nothing about it, it's terrible," Mr. Jones said, looking away.

"Please don't feel guilty, I'm fine now! I know that you tried everything you could and before I started Hogwarts I wished that I could have stayed with you and Adam. But now I'm starting to like it here. The Potters are wonderful and I have new friends. . . I do miss you all though."

"We do too. Listen Rachel, I know the boys have been keeping you posted on what they've found out regarding your mom's death. I ask that you do nothing dangerous, nothing stupid."

"What do you mean?"

"Like going around asking questions. It'll bring attention to yourself."

"I can't promise that."

"Rachel-"

"Did you know that she used to live here before she went to California?"

"No, I didn't until after she died."

"What else could she have been hiding?"

"I'm not sure. She would fly out here every so often throughout the year, while you were at Starlight. She had been doing that for a couple of years saying that she wanted to visit historical sights. Since she taught history at that muggle school it hadn't seemed strange to me at the time."

"Why do you think they killed her?"

"I'm just as in the dark about that as you are Ray."

* * *

This chapter is a bit short and there isn't anything about Steven or Adam. There will be a small scene with them next chapter, but I don't think there will be too much after, sorry. I was thinking about either having them spend the summer at James' or having them spend 7th year at Hogwarts, but I'm not sure about either of those.

I hope you all liked this chapter and thanks for reading and reviewing! Have a wonderful New Year's Eve!


	17. A Double Agent?

Since Starlight had a couple of more vacation days than Hogwarts did, Adam and Steven went to see Rachel and the others off. As they walked through the platform many eyes followed the two American boys. When it was finally time to say bye, tears came to Rachel's eyes.

"Come on Belle, none of that. You'll see us before you know it!" Adam tried to comfort her.

"I know, but. . . I just really miss you two. I wish you could come with us."

"I do too, but we'll keep in touch!" Steven assured her.

"I guess. Pull a prank in my honour back at Starlight okay?"

"Will do but get on the train before you get left behind," Adam said. Rachel gave the two boys a long hug before boarding the train.

"It was good meeting you Remus, James, Sirius," Steven said, shaking their hands in turn. Adam did so too.

"Same here," Sirius and Remus said.

"Visit us again, you're welcome at my place any time," James offered.

"Thanks. We'll take you up on that offer. See you around," Adam waved as the train took off.

Sirius, James, Remus, and Rachel waved back and then set off down the train. They found Lily, Melody, and Julie and joined them in their compartment.

"Who were those guys with you?" Julie asked, peering out the window hoping to get one last glimpse at them.

"Oh, they're my friends from Starlight, Adam and Steven," Rachel answered. "Why?"

"They are so cute! Especially the taller one." Julie giggled.

Rachel pictured the boys in her head. She supposed they were rather good looking, but she had been around them for so many years that she hardly noticed. Steven was of average height with dark, spiked up hair, green-blue eyes, and a built body. Adam had straight brown hair that reached just above his ears with hazel eyes. He also had a built body (he and Steven worked out together in Steven's home gym, they could be so shallow at times).

"That's Adam, the other one is Steven."

"Does Adam have a girlfriend?" Julie asked.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. I think Steven is better boyfriend material though."

"Do you now?" Sirius asked, arching his eyebrow.

"I only meant because. . . Adam. . ."

"I get it! You're trying to protect your brother!" James exclaimed.

"He's your brother?" Melody asked.

"Practically-" Rachel began but was interrupted by the compartment door sliding open to reveal Peter Pettigrew.

"Er. . . hi. . ." he said nervously.

The group just stared.

"What do you want Pettigrew?" Sirius spat.

"I-I j-just wanted t-to hang out. . ."

"You spent the entire first half of the school year, and probably the summer too, with those Death Eater Slytherins and now you want to come with us? Forget it Peter." James said.

"Y-you d-don't understand. I-I wasn't r-really their friend."

"When you spend months around a group of people they're called your friends Pete," Remus said, trying to be as kind as he could despite his anger. Remus was too nice sometimes.

"N-no, I-I was only with them t-to find out their s-secrets."

The boys exchanged glances. Rachel and the other girls remained silent; the boys' problem with Peter wasn't their business.

"Stop stuttering and explain," Sirius said shortly.

Peter took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"I got to the Hogwarts Express early back in September and went to save us a compartment. That's when the group of Slytherins showed up and I remembered what you had said last time that I saw you, Sirius. About your brother joining the Death Eaters and how you wished you could have someone on the inside, so I decided to pretend to be their friend, and it worked."

That was Sirius' weak spot, his brother, and Peter knew it too. How many times had Sirius complained about what a prat his brother was and whatnot? Yet, his friends all knew that a small part of him still cared about Regulus and would love to try and save him from himself.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier? Like when we were in the common room or something?" Remus asked, not quite believing Peter's story.

"Because I knew you were all mad at me and I was afraid you wouldn't believe me. . . like you don't right now."

"Why did you come back to us? Why not stay with them and pass us information when we're in Gryffindor Tower?" Sirius asked.

"I was getting tired of doing it and they were starting to suspect me."

"Don't you think they'll know now that you're back with us?" James asked.

"Does that mean you're accepting me?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Yeah," James said slowly. "We should have known better than to think you would betray us like that. We've been friends since first year."

Rachel was surprised they bought his story and accepted him back so quickly but then she remembered how they were when she first met them. James was so loyal to his friends to the point of being too naive at times, in Rachel's opinion, but if they trusted Peter she supposed she should too.

"Thank you!" Peter cried.

"No problem," Sirius said. "But what can you tell us about them?"

"They're all evil and all planning to join the Death Eaters, that's for sure."

"No kidding," Sirius said rather sarcastically.

"What can you tell me about Severus Snape?" Rachel asked. Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat, remembering her childhood friend.

"He's planning to be a Death Eater too. He's just as bad as the rest of them, always making up his own spells, wrapped up in the dark arts. He and Malfoy are close friends."

Rachel sighed. Severus was her friend, but she hated the dark arts, and he was engrossed in them. She didn't know what to do, but she now understood the predicament Lily had been in and at last respected her decision.

"Worm," James began, reinstating Peter's nickname, "do you know the names of any of the real Death Eaters?"

"We're not supposed to, but they would mention some names here and there. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if Stanton is a Death Eater."

"As in Ryan Stanton? No, but there is a Melinda Stanton, it could be his mother."

"No way that Stanton's mom is a Death Eater, he's so sweet!" Rachel said to the group a couple of days later as they sat in the common room doing their homework. It was the second day back from break and already they had work.

"We've already been over this," Peter said, somewhat annoyed. "Just because he's good doesn't mean she is. Look at Sirius."

Sirius scowled. "Sorry," Peter added when he saw.

Rachel had grown accustomed to Peter and she could see why he was friends with Remus, James, and Sirius. Sure he wasn't good looking and could be awkward and a bit of a coward at times, but he was also pretty funny and easy to get along with at other times. She did notice that he was easy to manipulate though, as James and Sirius tended to do often to him.

Peter, on the other hand, never thought he would see the day when the Marauders would bring a girl into their group. At first he thought it was only because Sirius fancied her, but as he got to know her he realized that she did fit in with them. The Slytherins didn't give him a hard time at all about leaving them, which made Remus a bit curious but he cast the thought aside. Peter was their friend; he shouldn't think things like that.

Sirius woke up on Friday feeling ecstatic. It was only 5:30 but he couldn't sleep anymore so he started getting ready instead. He finished by six and decided his friends had slept enough. He went over to James' bed and jumped on it until James woke up.

"Padfoot, what the-"

Sirius then went over to Remus and Peter's beds and ripped open their hangings while shouting, "Do you know what today is? It's Friday! We have to get everything ready! Come on!"

"It's only six, give us half an hour," Remus said.

"No, we have to go! It has to be perfect!" Sirius insisted. "I'll wait for you downstairs with Belle."

"Probably isn't up either," Peter muttered. James, Remus, and Peter grudgingly began getting ready.

Sirius found Rachel sitting in the common room reading a book. She looked up when she saw him and moved over so he could sit.

"Good morning," she said, blushing slightly as he gave her a small kiss.

"Good morning, what are you reading?" he asked her.

"Oh, it's called A Separate Peace. My mom taught English and history in a muggle school and one of the assigned books was this one so she had me read it too."

"And you're re-reading it?" Sirius asked, a look of mock horror on his face.

Rachel smiled. "Reading isn't that bad, you know. But I'm just trying to figure out why it's called A Separate Peace. When she gave me this book, my mom told me that if I could figure out why, then I would have one of the secrets of life. I didn't care then but now. . . it's kind of important to me."

"Maybe if you tell me what it's about then I can help you."

Rachel looked uncertain. "It's going to sound really bad, it's one of those books you have to read to understand, but I'll try anyway. It's about two boys in a military school. One of the boys, Finny, is almost perfect in his best friend's eyes, Gene. Gene is a bit jealous and eventually knocks Finny out of a tree and he breaks a leg and. . . it's really confusing."

"Wow, some best friend," Sirius mutters.

"It's a lot better than it sounds!" Rachel said in between laughter.

"Can I borrow it? Maybe it'll make more sense if I read it myself."

"Go for it, but I thought you hated reading?"

"Nah, I only hate it when it's assigned." The couple was interrupted by the arrival of their friends.

"Okay we're down so let's get this started," James said, excitement in his voice.

"So what should we do?" Sirius asked.

"I haven't thought of anything. I was thinking maybe we could sneak into the Slytherins common room and do something?" James suggested.

"No, you would need more time to plan for something that big," Remus said.

"We could charm the suits of armour to chuck things at people," Rachel said.

"No, we would need more time for that too, unless any of you know the spell for that?" Sirius looked around at the group but no one said anything. "Thought so."

"What is that first year doing?" Peter asked, pointing at a small boy starting to climb the girl's staircase.

"Doesn't he know that- there he goes," Remus said as the stairs turned into a slide and the boy landed in a heap at the bottom. Remus and Rachel went to help the embarrassed first year as the people in the common room burst into laughter. James and Sirius, however, were staring at each other, both thinking the same thing. When Rachel and Remus returned to the couch, James turned to them.

"We have an idea."

Morning classes that day were normal. They all had Transfiguration first with Hufflepuff and then Herbology with Ravenclaw. After that the group was split, Remus, Melody, and Lily had Ancient Runes and James, Sirius, Peter, Julie and Rachel had Defence. Lunch came next; by the time Julie arrived in the Great Hall, Lily, Remus, and Melody were already eating.

"Where are the others?" Lily asked her.

"I don't know," Julie answered. "They said something about not being hungry."

"The day those four aren't hungry is the day I marry James," Lily muttered.

"No, not that one. Wait for a big group," Sirius whispered to James. They were huddled at the top the marble staircase hidden under the invisibility cloak. Rachel and Peter were at the bottom, hidden from view by the stairs.

"This one," James whispered, giving their partners at the bottom the signal.

Rachel saw and muttered, "Glisseo," at the same time as Sirius and James muttered "aguamenti."

The staircase flattened into a slide and that, combined with the stream of water from the top, caused the large group of students to come crashing down, completely soaked. They were outraged. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick rushed to scene and tried to discover who was behind it, though McGonagall already had a good idea. Once they were done laughing, Rachel and Peter blended in with the crowd making their way to lunch; James and Sirius were already at the table eating.

"Did she ask you anything?" James asked.

"No, she saw us and gave us a questioning look but since it was Peter and me I don't think she suspected us," Rachel said. The four burst into laughter once more.

"That was excellent! Simple but effective," Sirius smiled triumphantly.

* * *

As always, I hope you liked this chapter and thank you to all the readers and reviewers! Your reviews make my day: ) 


	18. A Narrow Victory?

* * *

Quidditch practices were being held daily; Mendez wanted the team to be ready for the game against Ravenclaw the last Saturday of the month. By the time the Friday before came around, the team was too exhausted to practice. Mendez noticed. 

"Okay team, don't change into your Quidditch robes, just follow me."

The team looked around in surprise and followed.

"Where do you reckon we're going?" James whispered.

"No idea mate," Sirius whispered back.

Their trip wasn't very long; Mendez led the team to the trophy room.

"Crowd around everyone, I want you to see this."

He was standing in front of a trophy case looking at a large plaque.

"Oh gosh, I had to clean that last time in detention, it took me forever!" Rachel whispered to James and Sirius.

"Apparently you didn't do such a hot job," Jeremy, one of the Beaters, laughed.

Rachel slapped him playfully on the arm. "I'd like to see you try cleaning it on your own."

"It might be a while before I get the chance since I don't get detention every other day," he teased her. Rachel laughed and turned back to Mendez who was talking now.

"This won't take long because I know you all zone out if I ramble too much. Can anyone tell me what this is?" He said pointing to the plaque.

"It's the Plaque of the Greats," James said, staring at the thing in admiration.

"Right, do any of you know why it's called that?"

"Because they were the best of the best," James answered. "They were the Gryffindor team of '54. They won the Quidditch Cup and won the summer tournament against Beauxbatons and Durmstrang."

"Right again Potter. In 1954, Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang held the first and last Quidditch Tournament ever. They stopped it because it caused too much school rivalry, but the point is that Hogwarts, specifically Gryffindor, won. If they won that tournament, can't we win the Quidditch Cup? In their honour, we have to play against Ravenclaw tomorrow and CRUSH them!"

The whole team erupted into cheers of "Yeah!" and "Crush them!"

Mendez quieted them down. "Okay team, you're free to go. Make sure you go to bed early, rest, and eat a good breakfast tomorrow."

The team walked out leaving James, Rachel, and Sirius behind.

"I didn't know there had been a tournament," Sirius commented, examining the plaque.

"Yeah, my dad was at school here that year." James said.

"Hey, have you guys ever seen this? It's a list of all of the Head Boys and Girls from the past!" Rachel said excitedly. Sirius looked at her curiously; she was so easily amused sometimes, it was funny.

"Yeah, my dad is on here." James pointed to a Harold Potter, Head Boy in 1954.

"You have a lot to live up to mate," Sirius said, starting to walk out.

James grinned and followed Sirius. "I'm getting there. You coming Belle?"

Rachel hadn't moved, she stood frozen in front of the list, her eyes glued to it.

"Belle? What is it?" Sirius asked as he and James walked back over to her.

Rachel pointed to the name a couple of years below Harold Potter. "Natalia Sandoval. That's my mother."

"Your mom?" James asked. "But that would mean that-"

"She was a student here," Rachel finished slowly. "Not only did she live here before she moved to the States but she also came to Hogwarts."

"Look at the name next to hers. Jared Stanton was Head Boy with her," Sirius said.

The trio clambered back to Gryffindor Tower and found Remus and Peter doing homework. Actually, Remus was doing homework while Peter stared off into space. They told them about their recent discovery.

"So Jared Stanton, probably Ryan's dad, was Head Boy when your mom was Head Girl, and Melinda Stanton killed your mom?"

"Why did she never tell me? What was she trying to hide?"

"I don't know, but you can always ask-" Remus hesitated as if rethinking what he was going to say. "-Rick," he finished.

"What?" Sirius yelped.

"You're crazy!" James exclaimed.

"I won't do it. I will never talk to him as long as I live."

"Whether you want to admit it or not, he and your mom knew each other fairly well. But since you're so against it leave him as a last resort and ask someone else."

"Like who?" Peter asked.

"We'll figure that out some other day. We have a game tomorrow so we need to get to bed." James told them.

"I almost forgot about that. James is right, I reckon we should get some rest. Belle?"

Rachel was still sitting on the couch. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

Rachel walked to the stairs where James grabbed her arm and held her back. "Promise me that you'll get some sleep and that you won't harp on this."

Rachel looked at him strangely, her mind elsewhere. "I'll go straight to bed."

"Something is definitely wrong," Sirius remarked after Rachel was gone. She normally gets mad at comments like that."

"Let's just hope she's fine for the game tomorrow," James said.

Remus smacked him on the head and Peter laughed. "Is Quidditch all you care about?"

o0o0o

"The score is 130-100, Ravenclaw! Not much considering the game has been raging for an hour with no sighting of the Snitch!" The commentator's voice rang through the pitch.

James looked around for any sign of the Snitch; they were behind and the faster he caught it the better. Rachel wasn't on top of her game and James knew she hadn't taken his advice about not harping to heart.

"Gryffindor Beater Lucero hits Bludger to Ravenclaw Chaser Whitley who drops the Quaffle -- Black from Gryffindor catches it, dodges an oncoming Bludger -- passes to Captain and Chaser Mendez -- Mendez to fellow Chaser Evans -- Evans and Ravenclaw Keeper Stanton face off -- she hesitates --

James stopped his search of the Snitch and turned to see the action. _Why is she hesitating?_

WHACK! Rachel felt the blow of the Bludger in her stomach before she realized what had happened. She couldn't breathe; it was all she could do to stay on her broom. Mendez called for a time out as Sirius and Ryan rushed to her. Ryan got there first.

"Are you okay? Talk to me Ray, come on." He held her so she wouldn't fall off her broom but she was still struggling to breathe. Ryan could see the panic in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked as he got to them.

"She just got the wind knocked out of her. She'll be fine," Ryan told him.

Rachel began breathing again. The rest of the Gryffindor team had crowded around.

"I'll take it from here," Sirius told Ryan.

"Fine by me," he answered.

"Thank you Ryan," Rachel said before he flew off to his team.

"No problem."

"Can you keep playing?" Mendez asked Rachel.

"Yeah, I'm fine now."

"Okay." He turned to the team, "okay you guys, listen up. We're behind, I know, but it's not much. We can still catch up if we focus. James, the sooner you catch the Snitch, the better. Let's go."

The team flew back to resume the game but Mendez held Rachel back. "Evans, I don't know what's going on in your personal life but I need you to forget about it for now and focus on the game. Okay?" He didn't mention that they could have scored if she hadn't hesitated.

"I'll try," she answered.

"No. Either you do it or you don't," he said sternly.

_He doesn't mess around_ Rachel thought. "I'll do it."

The game continued. "And Ravenclaw in possession of the Quaffle! Brown to Mosher -- back to Brown -- Brown to Martin -- she drops it and Evans picks it up. She passes to Black, Black to Mendez, and back to Black. He nears the goal posts and it almost looks personal! He shoots -- Stanton dives, misses it by inches -- SCORE! 130-110, Ravenclaw!"

* * *

This was a short chapter, sorry! Next one will be longer : ) Hope you enjoyed it! Oh, and the next chapter will have the results of the Quidditch match 


	19. You Had Better Be Joking!

I didn't want to keep writing about the Quidditch match so I just set this after the game. Sorry if you wanted more of the action!

* * *

"That was a good match," Ryan told Rachel. He had waited for her to leave the locker room and asked her if she would take a walk by the lake with him. Since James and Sirius had gone to Hogsmeade for butterbeer earlier, Rachel agreed. 

"It was intense. You would have won if James hadn't caught the Snitch."

"Yeah, but part of it had to do with your flying. I'm not trying to say you're bad!" He added when he saw Rachel's face. He made a mental note to choose his words more carefully. "You just looked like you weren't all there."

"That sounds much nicer," she said sardonically. "I know what you mean though."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it was just. . ." Rachel considered telling him about what was really bothering her but thought better of it. "These were the first holidays without my mom and it was hard."

"I can't even imagine how hard this has been on you."

"It's getting better; I've made a lot of friends here. That helps."

"And you have Sirius."

Rachel looked at Ryan and though his eyes betrayed no emotion, she sensed that he was a bit hurt.

"I'm sorry."

He flashed her a smile. "Don't be. We're better off as friends. Besides, you and Sirius go well together."

"Thank you. How were your holidays?" Rachel asked, eager to change the subject.

"They were pleasant enough. For Christmas we went to the annual ball the pureblood families have. That was rather tedious. I mean, balls were common a century ago, not now, but it's tradition I suppose. New Year's Eve was much better."

"Oh. The Potters didn't mention anything about a ball."

"Er, that would be because they aren't welcome there. It's the whole blood traitor thing. But the Blacks were there."

There was a snort behind them. "Where? That wretched ball they have every year? I remember going when I was younger. Bet it was loads of fun." It was none other than Sirius.

"The usual," Ryan answered.

"Horrible then. Well, I really need to talk to Rachel so. . ."

"Right. I'll see you around Rachel."

"Bye Ryan." The couple walked off towards the castle. Rachel looked back and saw Ryan take a seat near the lake.

"Wow, I'm surprised you're not upset that I was with Ryan," Rachel commented.

"I'll admit I'm a bit annoyed, but I have something more important on my mind." Sirius pulled Rachel into an empty classroom once they were inside the castle and closed the door behind him.

Rachel hesitated. "I don't know about this."

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Sirius smirked.

"Well. . .why else are we here?"

Sirius sat her on a table and kissed her. She kissed him back, her heart beginning to race just as he pulled away.

"You don't seem so opposed to it now," Sirius said, a smirk still on his face.

Rachel blushed deeply and Sirius continued to speak. "But the reason we're here is because I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"You and Quidditch. . .and stuff."

"Just spit it out." She knew it couldn't be anything good and it made her nervous.

"Well, today during the match you seemed very distracted." He didn't include that she didn't play very well. "And I know it's because of all this stuff with your mom. Lily told me you haven't been sleeping well."

Rachel didn't say anything. What could she? Everything he was saying was true.

"Look, you need to deal with this. Stop pushing it to the back of your mind and plastering a smile on your face pretending this isn't happening," he said rather sternly.

Rachel said nothing. Her temper was rising and she had to bite back a retort. Who was he to tell her what to do? What to feel?

"You need to bring these memories, these feelings, to the surface and deal with them."

"That's rich, coming from you." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

Sirius' eyes turned cold. He knew she was referring to things with his family. What upset him most wasn't the comment she made, it was more that she was trying to get at him at any angle she could. He neared her and for a second, Rachel thought he would strike her. She covered her head with her arms.

Sirius stared at her, all coldness and anger gone. Did she think he was going to hurt her? He gently pulled her arms down and met her eyes.

"Rachel, I would never hit you."

Rachel looked down. She opened her mouth to say something but decided against it.

"What?"

"I was just going to say that if someone came at you like that I think you'd do the same thing."

"Good point. I mean, I wouldn't but other people would."

Rachel smiled, it was cute when Sirius tried to act all tough like that. Neither of them said anything, they just stared at each other not quite knowing what to say.

"You know, it was my fault when he would do that. Instead of staying quiet I'd come up with a stupid remark. He hated backtalk," Rachel said. She had wanted to get that off her chest for so long, it felt good to finally admit it.

Sirius knew what she was referring to right away. "Honestly, you can be spiteful when you're mad but it's still no reason to hit you. When we weren't getting along you were vicious a couple of times. Just remember that words can be more hurtful than blows."

"You're right."

After a minute Sirius continued. "Listen, I know I'm not one to talk, but I'm starting to follow my own advice. What happened , happened and life goes on; you need to figure out a way to go on with it. Pushing your problems to the back of your mind might work for a while but it'll eventually resurface when you least expect it."

"Like during Quidditch."

"Exactly." Sirius paused. "I figured out what A Separate Peace means, but I think it's best you discover it on your own. It'll help you with this."

"That was fast."

"Yeah. But let's get to the party before everyone finishes all the butterbeer!"

They made their way to Gryffindor Tower. Rachel stopped Sirius just before he gave the password.

"Sirius, I don't really feel like celebrating. I think I'll just go to the dormitory and read," Rachel said.

"Read? While everyone else is partying?"

"I know it sounds lame but, yeah. Could you get me the book from upstairs?"

"I guess. Acromantula," Sirius gave the Fat Lady the password.

"Padfoot! Belle! I was wondering where you two went!" James yelled across the noisy common room.

"We just needed a quiet place to talk," Rachel told him.

"Talk, is that what they're calling it nowadays?" Remus smirked.

"Moony!" Rachel exclaimed in surprise. She blushed deeply.

Sirius laughed. "No, we really were just talking. I'll be back, I need to get something for Belle."

"I'll come too," she said, following him to the stairs.

"Reckon they call it 'reading' now!" James called after them.

"Such dirty minds," Sirius chuckled as he pushed open the door.

"It's awkward when people say things like that," Rachel mumbled. Her blush wasn't quite gone.

He handed her the book lying on his bed. "Why is it awkward?"

"I don't know, I just get embarrassed."

"It's because you want it to be true isn't it?" Sirius teased, putting his hands on her waist and pulling her to him.

"No. That isn't it at all."

He kissed her. "You know it is."

"You should get back downstairs."

"Maybe I want to stay up here with you," he whispered seductively and kissed her again.

Rachel pulled away. "Sirius-"

"Getting a book huh?" James laughed. Rachel stepped away from Sirius.

"Way to kill it Prongs," Sirius laughed.

"Sorry mate, I need my cloak."

"Uh, I was just leaving." Rachel left the room before either of them could say anything else.

All the girls in her dormitory were downstairs so Rachel was able to read in peace. She read until the end of chapter three where she had to read and reread the last paragraph to understand it.

'I should have told him then that he was my best friend also and rounded off what he had said. I started to; I nearly did. But something held me back. Perhaps I was stopped by that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth.'

_What does he mean? That he and Finny weren't best friends? Why would Gene think they weren't? _She thought about it for a while but didn't come up with anything._ I'm never going to figure this out. _Rachel thought to herself. She looked at her watch and saw that it was already ten; she decided to go to sleep.

Rachel woke up the next morning to see Lily standing over her. "Ahh! What are you doing?"

Lily laughed. "I am not that scary! I was trying to wake you up!"

"Why? It's Sunday, we can sleep in," Rachel yawned.

"Coming from the person who slept most," Julie said.

Rachel looked around the room and was surprised to see that Lily, Julie, and Melody were all up and dressed. Fiona's hangings were still closed and Rachel figured she was still sleeping. She was about to start making all kinds of noise to wake her up but was too tired to do it.

"That's true huh? Anyway, you can't sleep in today. We decided last night to spend the day with the guys doing whatever they want," Lily said.

"Actually, we didn't really decide. We lost a bet so we're at the guys' mercy," Melody corrected.

"Lost a bet? Which bet? And why am I included in this? I wasn't there."

"Aren't we full of questions today?" Lily chimed.

"We bet that Peter couldn't get a date to Hogsmeade for the Valentine weekend," Julie said.

"He didn't!" Rachel half-asked in astonishment knowing he did.

"Yes, but it was all set up. We told them it didn't count since it was set up but they argued that it didn't matter how he got one as long as he got one," Julie said.

"And how does this involve me?"

"Well, I know you weren't there but. . . we kind of agreed that we couldn't leave out and we were sure that you would agree with us that Peter couldn't get a date and since we lost you're with us," Lily explained in one breath.

"What do we have to do?"

"Whatever they ask us to."

Rachel's name came from her mirror. She picked it up and answered rather moodily. "What Prongs?"

"I take it you heard about the bet," he grinned.

"Yes I did, you cheaters."

He smiled sheepishly. "We need you all to meet us in our dormitory."

"Oh joy," Rachel said as she put her mirror away. "I should get ready."

Twenty minutes later all four girls made their way to the boy's dormitory.

"Good morning ladies!" Sirius greeted the girls. "Good morning babe," he kissed Rachel.

"Someone's in a good mood," Rachel smiled. She felt more awake after her shower and in a better mood too.

"Yes I am! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and we have our own personal slaves for the day!" Sirius said. The girls glared.

"Whatever. Why are we here?" Lily asked.

"For your first order," James answered.

"Expect the unexpected today," Remus added.

"Wouldn't expecting the unexpected make the unexpected expected?" Sirius asked. Everyone stared at him. After a second or two Remus chucked a pillow at his head.

"Oi! What was that for?"

"For trying to be all smart."

"Aww Moony, are you jealous because you're not the smart one anymore?"

"No you dolt, you aren't the smart one. It's true that expecting the unexpected would make the unexpected expected but that's why I said it. Now it won't be unexpected so ha! I'm the smart one!"

"N-"

"As entertaining as this may be," Lily began, "can we go down to breakfast already?"

"Of course. As a matter of fact, that is your first order. Bring us our breakfast."

Julie was about to protest when Rachel placed a hand on her arm.

"It's okay Jules. It's really no big deal," Rachel smiled evilly.

Lily caught her eye and she too began to smile the same evil smile. They left the room without another word, Julie and Melody following behind them.

"What were they smiling about?" Peter asked uncertainly.

"I don't know but what's the worst they can do? Mess with our food? We can just go to the kitchen and get our own," Sirius answered.

"And then we can make them do something dreadful," James added.

"Hey, we didn't tell them what we wanted!" Peter remembered.

"They see us eat every morning; I'm sure they know what we like. If not they know to at least get ham and eggs," Remus said.

"We'll see when they get here. They should be back soon, right?" Peter asked.

"Right, I say about ten minutes," James answered.

Half an hour later the girls still weren't back.

"How long does it take to get us breakfast?" Peter complained. "Are they killing the pig or what?"

"Probably milking the cow too," James muttered darkly. "She was supposed to take the mirror with her!"

They grumbled until the girls arrived five minutes later.

"What took you so long?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, we ate first," Julie said.

"We didn't think you'd mind," Rachel grinned. The girls handed the plates to the boys.

"Well we do! We've been waiting forever!" James exclaimed.

"You didn't mind, did you Remus?" Melody asked, handing him his food and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

"No, of course not," he answered, not meeting his friends' eyes.

"Traitor," Sirius coughed.

"We'll just wait for you downstairs while you eat," Lily said, starting to walk out of the door.

"Meet us outside by the lake instead," James said.

"Fine, hurry up though," Julie said.

The girls were nearly out of the castle when the guys came running up behind them, Peter bringing up the rear.

"Hold on! Wait for me!" he called to them.

"Wormtail, we're not moving," Remus said.

"Oh, well, on with it then," Peter said when he reached them.

"On with what? It's cold, what are we going to do out here?" Rachel whined, hugging herself to keep as warm as possible. Sirius noticed and put his arms around her.

"_We_ aren't going to do anything. _You _are going to jump in the lake," James said.

"What?" Julie asked, hoping she had heard him wrong.

Lily looked like she could punch him. "James Potter you had better be joking!"

"It's the middle of January!" Melody cried.

"Actually, it's the end of January," Peter corrected. Melody glared at him.

"Sorry, but we want some entertainment. That and I didn't like how you nearly starved us this morning," he answered.

Rachel looked at Sirius. "We don't have to do we?"

James caught Sirius' eye and gave him a look. "Yeah, you do," he said apologetically.

"Fine." Rachel said pulling away from him. "Fine."

Melody looked helplessly at Remus. He avoided meeting her eyes and she turned and walked away in resignation.

"I reckon we should just run in and get it over with. It'll be so much worse if we go in little by little," Lily suggested to the girls.

"Let's go then," Julie said unenthusiastically.

"We're so getting them back for this," Rachel mumbled, looking back to give Sirius one last glare before going in.

* * *

Disclaimer: the underlined part in this chapter was from John Knowles' book _A Separate Peace._ Great book, I love it. 

James is so mean, making them jump into the lake. And the other guys too for not stopping him. Hopefully they can figure out a way to get out of doing it. . . ; )

As always, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks to all the readers and reviewers!


	20. Revenge is Sweet, and Cold

"So today was an interesting day," Sirius said that night. He and Rachel were sitting in the common room trying to ignore all the noise around them.

"Yes it was. My favourite part had to be cleaning up your pigsty," Rachel said dryly.

"Come on, our dormitory isn't _that_ bad. I would say the highlight of the day was when you all jumped in the lake."

"Oh yes. Us nearly freezing to death is bloody hilarious."

"Ah, catching on to the lingo I see. But you really didn't seem to mind when you got out."

"Just because I wasn't complaining doesn't mean I didn't mind. I was just remembering something."

"What were you remembering?"

At this, Rachel smiled. "It was winter break and Adam and I were at Steven's house for a couple of days. Since he lives at the edge of the beach, the two fools thought it would be so cool if we went for a swim _at four in the morning!_ Needless to say, I wasn't looking forward to it but I couldn't back out either. I went in."

"I bet it was perfectly lovely," Sirius teased.

"Naturally," Rachel returned evenly. "But to top it off, I felt something brush against my leg in the water. I thought it was a jellyfish trying to sting me so I started jumping around and screaming like mad trying to get away, but the waves were really strong. Adam and Steve helped pull me onto the shore to find it was only a piece of seaweed. They didn't shut up about that for months."

Sirius chuckled at the image of Rachel running around panic-stricken about seaweed. "Have you heard from them?"

"No, but I sent them a letter a couple of days ago. Hey, um, I was wondering. . ."

"Yes?" Sirius prompted.

"Were you kidding about your insinuations last night?"

It took Sirius a second to figure out what she was talking about. "Oh! Yeah, I was. I wouldn't do anything you aren't ready for."

"Really?"

"Really. I would be lying if I told you I don't think about it, but I'll be patient."

"I'm sorry, I've just never. . . you know." Rachel blushed. This was such an awkward conversation for her.

"Never? Not even with-"

"No, Steven was my first boyfriend."

"Now that I don't believe. I mean, look at you!"

"Believe me, I was a total tomboy until fourth year, no guy would look at me twice. In fourth year I guess you can say I got in touch with my feminine side but that's when Steve and Adam decided to get all protective."

"So the most you've done is snog?"

Rachel nodded shyly. "Have you ever-"

"Er, yeah."

"Oh. Um, how many times?"

"Enough."

"Oh. So a lot then."

"I don't want to lie to you and say it's only been once or twice because it hasn't. It doesn't mean I go around shagging every girl that I date either. I've only done it with two of my girlfriends."

"Right."

"You're mad aren't you?"

Rachel sighed. "No, I'm not. I'm just. . . I don't know. I'm not exactly surprised, I guess I'm just trying to take it all in."

"I'm sorry," Sirius said. He wasn't sure why but he felt the need to apologize.

"Don't worry about it Sirius, it's your past; it's no problem. I just don't want to know who they were, or are, or whatever. Actually, I think it's time I go to sleep."

"It's barely nine thirty!"

"I know, but we have classes tomorrow. That and I'm tired."

"Okay then, but don't I get a kiss?"

Rachel gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"No!" Sirius pouted. "I want a real kiss."

"Like this?" Rachel gave him a small peck on the lips.

"I was thinking something more like this." Sirius brought her face to his and kissed her deeply. When they finally pulled away Rachel was out of breath.

"Goodnight Padfoot."

"Goodnight Belle."

Rachel walked up to her dormitory and found the other girls waiting for her already.

"Finally, you're here," Julie said.

"Sorry, Sirius held me up."

"No matter, let's just plan this," Lily said, getting straight to business.

"Not much to plan is there? We just get buckets full of freezing water and dump it on them," Rachel said.

"We just need to get the details finalized," Lily said.

"Why don't we just use our wands for water?" Melody asked.

"Because using buckets sounds cooler," Rachel said.

"That and we can make the water as cold as we want it if we use buckets," Julie added.

"Sounds good to me. Now what time should we do it at? I was thinking around three," Lily said.

"Why not midnight?" Julie asked.

"Because they go to sleep around that time and we want to get them halfway through their sleeping time so they're more tired in the morning," Melody answered.

Rachel started giggling. The girls looked at her strangely. "It's just that we're so evil, I love it!"

"Ohhh-kay. We should go to sleep now. Who knows if we'll be able to sleep after we wake up," Lily said.

o0o0o

Rachel woke up to Julie's prodding. "It's three Ray, time to go."

"Huh? Oh, okay." Rachel rose and walked to the restroom to wet her face. When she get back to the room the other three girls were already up with buckets in hand.

"Your bucket is over there." Lily pointed to a bucket by her bed.

"Great, let's fill them up."

"Already did."

"So you have. Did you make it colder?"

"No."

"Let's do it then. _Gelu_," Rachel muttered. The other girls followed suit. Rachel put a finger in to feel it. "Freezing, perfect."

The girls set off to the boys' dormitory, grinning madly.

"This is going to be so funny!" Melody giggled.

"I know, but we have to be quiet," Rachel said, holding in laughter of her own. They had reached the room. All four girls burst into silent giggles but stopped when Rachel opened the door. They each went to the foot of one of the boys' beds and silently pulled open the hangings.

"On the count of three," Rachel whispered.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!" The girls dumped the water on the boy in front of them and rushed to the door.

"OH MY-"

"WHAT IN MERLIN-"

"BLOODY HELL!!"

"IT WAS YOU!!" James saw the girls at the door. They flew out of the room, down the flight of stairs, up the other flight of stairs, and into their dormitory. Once they were in there they burst out in a fit of laughter.

"Did you see their faces?"

"They were soaked!"

"They were furious!"

"That was excellent!"

They were rolling around on the floor with laughter.

"Shut up!" came Fiona's voice from behind her hangings. The girls quieted down a bit.

"I wonder what they'll do tomorrow morning when we see them," Rachel said.

"I really hope they don't try to get us back," Lily said.

"You think they would?" Melody asked.

"You think they wouldn't?" Julie responded.

"Oh well, no use worrying about it now. We'll just try to make a truce tomorrow," Rachel said.

"Rachel's right. Let's just try to get some sleep."

They looked at each other and burst into laughter again.

o0o0o

"Did you ladies sleep well last night?" Sirius asked the next morning at breakfast as he took a seat next to Rachel.

"Why yes, we did," Rachel answered with a sweet smile. "I hope you did too."

"Oh, we did," Sirius said.

"Until the oddest thing happened," James began. "Halfway through the night someone thought it would be amusing to pour a bucket of cold water on us."

"Really?" Lily asked, holding back a ridiculous grin.

"I wonder who would do such a thing?" Melody said, mock innocence on her face.

"Okay, stop acting. We all saw you," Peter said rather annoyed. He, apparently, didn't take it as lightly as the other two boys had.

"You have to admit, it was a good one," Julie said.

"It was," James said. Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it was so wonderful to be woken up by freezing cold water," Remus grumbled sarcastically.

"Maybe now you know how we felt yesterday," Melody told him.

"Except we didn't make you jump in the middle of the night," Remus shot at her.

"Moony! It's okay, don't get yourself worked up," James said, a wicked grin on his face.

"You're planning something," Lily stated.

"Aw Padfoot, you wouldn't do that to us would you?" Rachel asked, leaning over and kissing him.

"Mmm, nice try," Sirius said, leaning in for a second kiss.

"Potter, you're the only one without a date for Hogsmeade aren't you?"

"Gee, thanks for pointing it out Evans. But neither do you or Julie."

"Actually, I'm going with Nathan from Hufflepuff," Julie said.

"Doyle? He's a decent guy, but that leaves you Lily. You don't have one, do you?"

"No, but that's where my proposal comes in. I'll go with you if you stop whatever plans you have for retaliation."

"As in a real date?" James asked.

"Yes James," Lily said, an annoyed tone to her voice.

"She acts like she doesn't want to," Rachel giggled in Sirius' ear.

"It's a deal," James said.

The owl post arrived and Rachel was surprised to see she had a letter.

"Oh, I think this is from the guys. I'll open them in Binns' class though."

"Ugh, History of Magic. Wouldn't want to be late to that," Sirius muttered.

The group made it to class just in time. Sirius and Rachel took a seat at the back of the classroom. As usual, Professor Binns lost most of the class ten minutes into his lecture.

"Aren't you going to open your letters?" Sirius asked Rachel.

"Oh yeah!" Rachel pulled out the envelope and took out the first letter, holding it so they could both read it. "Hmm, they wrote separate letters. This first one is from Steve."

_My Dearest Belle,_

"He just wrote that to tick you off, Sirius," Rachel told him, feeling him tense slightly. Sirius mumbled something incoherent.

_How's it going? We're doing okay over here. It's been raining a little and it kills the fun, but other than that it's great! For some weird reason, Adam wanted us to write our own separate letters this time so here's mine. That reminds me, we pulled a prank in your honor. We enchanted the statues in the Upper Commons to squirt water at passers-by. It was hysterical! Until Mr. Pirir walked by. He wasn't exactly pleased about being doused with water so he gave us a detention. All in all, not bad. That's pretty much it here. I hope everything is fine over there, especially with Sirius. Say hi to the guys for me, write back, and hope to see you soon!_

_Love always,_

_Steve_

Rachel opened the next letter.

_Hey Ray,_

_What's up? I'm fine, I guess. The reason we wrote separate letters is cuz I don't want Steve to know what I'm about to tell you. Dad's been thinking about moving over there so you could have a place to stay. He feels it's his responsibility to take care of you since your dad didn't, and he feels bad passing the responsibility to the Potters. Don't get me wrong, you're like my sister; I just can't leave Steve behind either, he's like my brother. I'm stuck; I don't know what to do. I wouldn't mind going to Hogwarts but. . . it's just hard leaving everything behind and I really don't want to. I kinda know how you felt now. I don't know what else to say so I guess this is it for now._

_Write back,_

_Adam_

_P.S. No, my dad didn't know about your mom._

_P.P.S. Say hi to Remus, James, and Sirius for me. And be careful with Sirius, don't do anything dumb._

"Bit protective aren't they?"

"You know it. I don't know what to feel about Adam coming over here. I don't want either of them to pick up everything and come live here just for me."

"Wouldn't you want them to come?"

"Part of me, yes. But it isn't fair to them, they have their lives made over there already; I'd feel guilty. I'll just write to Adam's dad and tell him I'm fine here and not to come."

"Do you think that would stop him?"

"It's worth a try."

* * *

So that was chapter 20, hope you enjoyed it! I would have posted it sooner but I had finals this past week, bugger /

I'd love to hear your feedback : )


	21. An Unexpected Source

I am sorry it took so long to update! I'm trying to figure out where exactly I'm taking this. That and my internet hates me / I'm apologizing beforehand for any mistakes in this. I didn't check it thoroughly cuz I wanted to post it up asap for you all

* * *

"Why didn't I think of it sooner?" Rachel mumbled to herself, slapping her hand to her forehead. It was after dinner and she and the guys were sitting in common room doing homework.

"Sorry, didn't catch that," Sirius said, his eyes not leaving the parchment he was currently writing on.

"It's just, I could ask McGonagall! I'm sure she was teaching while my mom was here!"

"Hmm, there's a thought," Remus said as he put his finished Charms essay away.

"You coming?" Rachel asked her friends.

"Where?"

"To talk to McGonagall."

James, Sirius, Peter looked up from their task.

"Right now?" Peter asked.

"We can't, we have to finish Flitwick's essay," Sirius said apologetically.

"I'm surprised you're done with it," Peter commented to Rachel.

"I wouldn't have been if Lily hadn't made me write it with her the day Flitwick assigned it."

"Lily, ever so responsible," James said rather dreamily.

"Stop drooling Prongs. I can go with you, Belle." Remus offered.

"Excellent. Where do you think she is right now?" Rachel asked as the two made their way out of the common room.

"We can try her office."

"Okay."

"Isn't it. . . doesn't it hurt to keep opening the wound by discovering things like this about her? Like peeling off a scab rather than letting it heal?"

Rachel thought for a moment. "Of course it hurts, but I don't think I would be able to heal until I know the truth. All I know right now is that my mother lied to me and that alone hurts almost as much as her being gone. I need to know why so I can forgive her and then move on."

"What if the answer is unpleasant?"

"Better to know the truth than be blinded by lies."

"Do you have any theories on why she would have lived here?"

"None whatsoever. From what she told me, she was born in Spain and a couple of years after she finished school she moved to the States."

"And she never mentioned which school she attended?"

Rachel racked her memories. "Now that I think about it, no. I never bothered to ask either. Blast, I can't believe how self-absorbed I was."

The door to McGonagall's office was open and Rachel could see her at her desk looking over some papers. Remus cleared his throat and the professor looked up.

"Mr. Lupin, Ms. Evans, may I help you with something?"

"Um, yes. I, uh, we um-"

"We just fancied a chat Professor," Remus cut in confidently.

"What he said," Rachel muttered lamely. Why was she suddenly so dumb stricken?

McGonagall looked at them strangely. "I suppose it wouldn't be too much trouble, I am only waiting for Mr. Malfoy to finish his lines. Why don't you come in and take a seat?"

"Thank you Professor." The pair walked to the chairs in front of her desk and plopped down. Rachel couldn't help but glance at Malfoy out of the corner of her eye and wonder what he did to get himself a detention. She had only had a couple of encounters with the Slytherin and they hadn't been pleasant.

"Now what exactly did you two want to talk about?"

Rachel took a deep breath and willed herself to calm down. "Well Professor, Remus and I were just looking around the Trophy Room when we came across the Head Boy and Girl list hanging there. We looked through it and saw the name. . . what was it?" she asked Remus. He briefly glanced at her and saw that she was at a loss for what to say next.

"Jared Stanton. We were wondering if that was Ryan Stanton's father."

"Yes, it is. Is there a particular reason you wanted to know this?"

"Not really. It's just that it was the only name, other than Mr. Potter's, that we recognized on the list," Remus lied easily.

"We were more interested in the name next to his, a Natalia Sandoval? I imagine that Spanish names aren't very common here." Rachel said, hoping to get information from the professor without any direct questions. Her heart was pounding furiously in her chest and she was sure the thumping could be heard by all those present.

Professor McGonagall ceased looking at them suspiciously and let herself talk.

"Ah, yes. Ms. Sandoval. She and Mr. Stanton were exceptional students, but then again, one must be exceptional to attain the title of Head Boy or Girl. I cannot say I knew much about Natalia; she was a Gryffindor and was well liked by her peers. As a matter of fact, she and Jared were an item."

Rachel nearly gasped. An item? Did Jared's wife, Melinda, kill Natalia because they dated? Is that why it happened? Out of jealousy? And when did they end it? What happened? She had so many questions to ask that she didn't know which to choose first.

"Were they going out for long?" Remus asked.

"Yes, from what I recall they started going out towards the end of sixth year and it lasted until their Commencement, perhaps long after."

"That's so romantic," Rachel cooed to keep up appearances. However, her mind was reeling from what she learned and the questions now arising from it.

"Professor, I'm finished." Malfoy handed her his parchment.

McGonagall looked it over. "Very well. You should all get to bed now."

Remus and Rachel knew that was their dismissal so they walked out after Malfoy.

"Evans," Malfoy began. He had waited for them around the corridor. "What's with all the questions about Sandoval?"

"Mind your own business Malfoy."

"Fine. I just thought you'd want to know more about your mother than the little that McGonagall told you," he said, starting to walk away.

Rachel was stunned into momentary silence. "What did you say?"

"Ignore him Belle, let's just go," Remus whispered.

"Your mother, Evans. Sandoval was your mother." Malfoy stood, leering at her.

"What do you know about her?"

"More than you evidently. Meet me in the gardens at eight tomorrow to find out more." Malfoy turned and left without another word.

"Let's get back to the common room," Remus said, pulling Rachel out of her stupor. She still didn't move so Remus took her arm and tugged her along. They walked back to the Gryffindor Tower in silence before Remus said anything.

"You're not considering talking to him, are you?"

"What if he's isn't lying and he really does know something about her?"

"What if it's all a trap or something?"

"We can ask ourselves all the what ifs in the world and it wouldn't make a difference until we find out what will really happen. The only way to do that is to talk to him and that's exactly what I plan to do."

Remus could see that she was decided and wasn't going to let anyone talk her out of this. "Fine, but you're taking one of us with you."

Rachel consented and mumbled the password to the Fat Lady. They walked in to find Sirius and James entertaining a large crowd of Gryffindors with their witty jokes and comical tales. They listened to the duo from a corner in the room.

"-he ran down Diagon Alley bellowing 'Save me! That guy is hitting on me!' then the oaf trips over his own feet and falls!" The crowd laughed at Sirius' tale and he continued.

"I caught up to him and tried to calm him down but he got up quick as lightening and took off again, still yelling. I finally found him in Flourish and Blotts hiding behind a bookshelf, muttering to himself like he was mad."

"I nearly was! You were hitting on me!" James defended.

"I was not you prat, it was just a laugh."

"Hey, Moony and Belle are back!" James said after spotting them standing in a corner.

"Sorry folks! That's it for today!" Sirius told the crowd. They reluctantly dispersed throughout the room. Remus and Rachel joined their two friends.

"Where's Peter?" Remus asked.

"I don't know, I think he said something about a detention."

"Oh, he should be back soon then, it's almost curfew."

"I suppose. So did you find anything out?" The four took a seat on either side of a small round table piled with their earlier schoolwork.

"My mom and Stanton were dating for a little over a year, maybe more."

"McGonagall said they started going out towards the end of sixth year and they were an item until Commencement but she doesn't know what happened to them after."

"That could be why. . . it happened. Stanton's wife is Melinda, maybe she was jealous of his ex and decided to, er, you know."

"That's what we were thinking."

"Is that all you found out?"

"From McGonagall, yes," Remus said cautiously, looking at Rachel.

She took the hint and sighed deeply, he was giving her the chance to tell them. She already knew what their reactions would be. "Malfoy was serving detention while we were talking to her so naturally, he overheard us. We left at the same time and he told us that he knows about her."

James and Sirius stared at her. "You believe him?"

"Yeah."

"He's lying."

"He knew she was my mom. I haven't told anyone that except you guys and Lily and I didn't mention it when I was talking to McGonagall."

"You can't trust him."

"His dad is probably a Death Eater along with Melinda Stanton. Malfoy probably does know something. Besides, it's not like I have any other leads."

"So what did he tell you about her?"

"Nothing. He wants Belle to meet him in the gardens at eight tomorrow."

"You're not going."

"You can't stop me Padfoot."

"Do you know what he does to people? To girls specifically? You aren't going Rachel."

"Like hell I'm not Sirius."

"We're trying to protect you Belle. Malfoy is bad news and it's not wise to go meet him in a secluded place by yourself."

"I appreciate your concern Prongs but I _have_ to know."

"What I suggest," Remus cut in, "is that she take one of us with her."

"All right, I'll go," Sirius said a little harshly after some deliberation. He was still heated over Rachel's stubborn foolishness. If she kept this up she would get herself killed one day.

"He won't say anything if you're not civil," Rachel warned.

"I'll be civil as long as he is."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

"Because this isn't like Malfoy! He isn't helpful to people because he's a nice guy! It's cuz he wants something!"

"Not necessarily, maybe he knows the information he has will hurt you," Remus said wearily.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that maybe what he knows about your mum isn't good, it'll hurt you emotionally."

Rachel thought about this for a second. Remus had this annoying habit of always being right.

"Both you and Padfoot have a good point, but I _need_ to know. I don't think you understand. What if one of your parents died and you had no idea how? You'd want to know, no matter what. Especially if all these, _speculations_, were surfacing. If you don't support me at least understand," Rachel pleaded.

The three boys gave a resigned sigh and nodded.

"Thanks," Rachel told them. "I'll see you tomorrow morning." She gave Sirius a quick kiss, waved to James and Remus, and went to bed.

o0o0o

"Detention with Snivellus! The nerve!" Sirius was ranting to Rachel as they walked to meet Malfoy. "I didn't even start it! Snivellus is the one who tried to boil my head in the potion! I was only defending myself!"

"Padfoot, calm down. I'm sure Slughorn was just trying to be fair."

"Fair? I don't think you heard me right. I have detention with _Snivellus_ and it wasn't even my fault this time!"

"I know, but it's only one detention, you won't die."

"It's only one detention, you won't die," Sirius mimicked irritably.

Normally, Rachel would have snapped and then walked off angrily. At this moment, however, she was feeling to nervous about the talk with Malfoy to care.

"Evans."

Rachel turned to see the blonde Slytherin leaning against a tree.

"I see you brought Black along," he continued in his slow drawl.

"Glad to see your eyesight is intact," Rachel snapped.

"Now, now, is that any way to speak to the keeper of information you want?"

Sirius' face was full of repugnance. He could feel Rachel tensing next to him and he knew she would let Malfoy walk all over her as long he had that information. It disgusted him.

"So what is it that you wanted to know Evans?"

"About Natalia. What do you know about Natalia?" Rachel asked quietly.

"Ah, yes. She was quite the beauty from what I've seen but I suppose you know that since you lived with her for the first, what? Fifteen years of your life?"

Sirius seethed. He was taunting her and she was letting him. Malfoy had that leverage over her and he loved the power he got from it. "Malf-"

"Don't," Rachel whispered to him. "It's okay."

"I'm not going to stand here and listen to this without doing anything Ray!" Sirius whispered back heatedly.

"I don't mind."

"You're letting him walk all over you!"

"Sirius-"

"I'm not going to watch this," Sirius said walking away. "I'll send Moony down here."

Malfoy had watched the exchange with slight amusement, catching bits of the conversation here and there. He wondered why Sirius left but was glad nonetheless.

Rachel was struggling to keep her tears under control but finally managed it. She was going to kill Sirius for leaving her alone with Malfoy in the dark. "What, other than her physical aspects, do you know about Natalia?"

"You're no fun Evans."

"Just tell me," Rachel said, and with great effort added, "please."

"Since you asked so nicely," he smirked. "There isn't much to tell Evans. Your mother lived at the Castillo's home."

"Who are they?"

"The Sandovals and the Castillos were close friends in Spain and both believed in the superiority of purebloods. Natalia's parents died of old age when she was young and she was adopted by the Castillos so they could teach her how to act as part of the superior class. Melinda was Natalia's age so the family moved here when the girls turned eleven so they could attend Hogwarts and learn English."

"Is Melinda Castillo now Ryan Stanton's mother?"

"Yes, she is."

So they had lived together. Her mother and her killer were practically sisters. For all she knew, her mother might have been a Death Eater along with Melinda. For all she knew, that was the reason she had been killed. She might as well ask.

"Was Natalia a Death Eater?" Rachel asked, finally looking at Malfoy. The sight scared her. He was advancing towards her with an cruel glint in his eye. Rachel looked around for any signs of Remus but she remembered that Gryffindor Tower was on the seventh floor, a good distance away from where they were. _Still, he should be here by now, right?_ she thought.

"Enough questions Evans, it's my turn to get what I want." Quick as a flash Malfoy disarmed Rachel and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her towards him. He forced mouth on hers and tried to kiss her. She kicked and tried to yell to no avail; he was stronger than her. He dragged her against the tree and pinned her body with his, his hands moving along her body hungrily.

Rachel tried to kick him, to push him away, to yell, anything, but she couldn't.

Suddenly, someone pulled Malfoy off of her and gave him blow to his face. Malfoy was caught off guard and stumbled backwards. Rachel couldn't see who it was through her tears but the person pointed a wand at Malfoy and yelled, "_Stupefy_!"

The voice belonged to James. Malfoy fell over and James rushed to Rachel who was on the floor hugging her knees with tears trickling down the sides of her cheeks.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner Belle! Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Rachel dried her eyes. "I'm okay, just a little scared."

"We should get you out of the cold. Let's go inside."

"Wait, he took my wand," she whispered.

"Lumos," James muttered. His wand illuminated the area around the pair and they looked for the wand. Rachel found it near a root by the tree.

"Let's go," she said, walking quickly to get away from the immobile body on the floor. They walked in silence until they reached the Fat Lady.

"Belle, did he. . . er-"

Rachel shook her head.

"So he just-"

"There you are!" Sirius had just walked out of the portrait.

Rachel stared at him icily and walked past him and the rest of the people in the common room and went up to her dormitory. Once inside she changed into her pyjamas and took out her copy of _A Separate Peace_.

She read about Gene's hidden jealousy of Finny and the 'accident' that followed shortly after. She read about how Finny, now physically unable to be the excellent athlete he was, lived through his best friend Gene. She saw the struggles of both boys, Finny denying the war because he couldn't participate in it, and Gene dealing with his guilt about having been the cause of Finny's accident and the rumours of said guilt. Even through this, the boys' bonds became stronger; they were, in a way, dependent upon each other. She read up to chapter eleven and decided the book was making her think too much.

She lay flat on her back staring at the ceiling and thinking about what had happened earlier when she was interrupted by a soft knock at the door.

"Come in!" she called.

The door opened and in walked Sirius.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked crossly.

"Er, Lily reckoned you would have had time to calm down by now so I came up here to talk," Sirius said tentatively.

"Then talk."

"I shouldn't have left, I'm sorry."

"You're right, you shouldn't have."

"Do you forgive me?"

"Do you know what he tried to do!"

"I'm sorry! I was wrong for leaving, just forgive me already!" Sirius said exasperatedly.

"This is all your fault! If you hadn't left he wouldn't have tried anything!"

"I think you're laying it on a bit thick now. Sure it wouldn't have happened if I had stayed but I do recall warning you about going down to meet him."

"So it's my fault now?"

"No, I'm just trying to show you that it isn't all my fault either."

"Whatever Sirius, I'm going to bed."

"You're kicking me out because I made a good point?"

"Goodnight Sirius."

"You're impossible sometimes," Sirius muttered before walking out.

o0o0o

Two days later and Rachel still wasn't speaking with Sirius. Naturally, it upset Sirius, but not enough to make the first move. If she didn't want to talk to him then he wouldn't talk to her. He had apologized, if she didn't want to accept it than that was on her.

"Rachel, this is ridiculous! He's your _boyfriend_, you have to talk to him eventually," Remus tried to talk sense into her.

"Not until he apologizes," Rachel answered doggedly.

"He already has! He said he did when he first talked to you and you went all psycho!"

"He apologized and then blamed the whole thing on me! And I wasn't all_psycho_!"

Remus ignored that last remark. "He did not and you know it; you're exaggerating. Now go over there and _you_ apologize to _him_ for being so unreasonable!"

"I will not."

"Fine, be stubborn," Remus said as he walked out of the library, leaving Rachel to study on her own.

"Belle! Just the person I was looking for!" James practically shouted across the library a couple of minutes later. Needless to say, Madam Pince was quick to quiet him down and threaten to throw him out.

"Prongs, if I hear one more person trying to persuade me to talk to Padfoot I will-"

"Relax! Even though I think you're being completely unfair and that you should talk to him, that's not what I'm here for. I need you to help me plan something for Lily's birthday."

"What do you have in mind?"

o0o0o

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The crowd's voices resonated around the common room.

Lily looked around, astounded. "Wow! This is for me?"

"No, that banner just says 'Happy Birthday Lily' for no reason," came Peter's sarcastic reply.

Lily slapped him on the arm playfully and turned to Rachel who was next to her.

"Thank you Ray! This is wonderful!"

"No problem, but it was really James' idea," Rachel said, pointing to where said person was standing with Sirius.

"Really? Wow. Er, how did you all get the Gryffindors who weren't invited to stay out?" Lily whispered.

"Uh, let's just say that the boys are very influential," Rachel grinned.

"This is great, I'm going to thank James," Lily said and walked over to him.

Rachel thought they had a pretty good turnout considering they had only had a day to plan it. All the Gryffindor seventh years were there along with some sixth years and even some fifth. She had put up the decorations while Sirius, James, and Remus got the food. Peter had kept her in the library while the others prepared under the pretence that he needed tutoring.

"You did a wonderful job with the decorating," Sirius whispered in her ear.

Rachel twirled around to face him. "Padfoot."

"It's been a while hasn't it?" he smiled softly.

"It has," Rachel said quietly. She was suddenly very aware of how good he looked.

"Can we go somewhere to talk?"

"Sure, where?"

"My dormitory, it'll be quieter there," he said, and seeing the doubt on her face he added, "don't worry, I won't try anything. I just need to talk to you."

"Okay." Rachel let Sirius lead her to his dormitory. When he had shut the door behind him he faced her.

"So. . . it's been a long time," he repeated.

"I think we have already established that yes, it has been a long time."

"R-"

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault Padfoot. I've been stupid from the beginning. Everyone was right, I just blew it out of proportion but by then I was too proud to admit it," Rachel blurted out, staring at the floor.

Sirius reached over and lifted her chin with a finger. "The important thing is that we're on speaking terms now, right?"

"Right," Rachel smiled.

"Good, that was easier than I thought! But now that that's settled, let's get back to party!"

_Boys,_Rachel thought,_ so easily distracted._

* * *

**A Quick Poll:**  
Adam and Steven at Hogwarts or not (or just one of them)? You can PM me your response or leave a comment, either way I'd love to hear your opinion!

Btw, hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	22. Lily's Truth

I am so sorry it took so long for me to post this! It's really a long story :/

* * *

"So explain to me again what it is you don't understand?" Lily was helping Rachel study for potions in the library. 

Rachel thought for a second. "Hmm, it would help if I knew that wouldn't it? I think it's just . . . the concepts behind it. You know how after every potion we make we have to write a paper about it? Well that's what I struggle with."

"I see. Potions reminds me of Chemistry. Do you know anything about that?"

"As in elements and stuff? Not really. It's no surprise that you do though."

"I don't know _too_ much about it. Petunia explained it a little to me on one of those rare occasions where we get along. Bu-"

"There are times when you get along?" Rachel was astounded.

"Like I said, they're rare. They happen once every two summers or so, if that. Bu-"

"Hey! I just remembered something!" Rachel missed the annoyance on Lily's face at being interrupted once again. "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day!"

"How do you get that from Petunia?" Lily asked, her annoyance tinged with mild curiosity.

"Oh, well you were saying that Petunia taught you a little chemistry and then I thought about chemistry between a guy and a girl and then I remembered!" Rachel said in one breath.

Lily shook her head. "You're so random. What about it?"

Rachel shrugged. "Nothing really, like you said, it was just a random thought. Are you doing anything?"

"No, it's on a school night and I don't have a Valentine." She saw Rachel open her mouth so she cut her off, "If you mention anything about James . . ."

"I won't," Rachel smirked. "But seriously, would you ever give him a chance?"

"I went to the ball with him didn't I?"

"As friends. I'm talking about a real date."

Lily sighed. "I don't know Ray. I mean, I can see he's changed this year but it's hard not to remember him the way he was. You don't understand how much I hated him. It wasn't the love-hate relationship some people thought it was; I really hated him."

"Why though? He isn't bad at all; you just have to give him a chance."

"No Ray, he is completely different this year. If you had known the James I did, you'd feel the same way. He was . . . beyond arrogant and . . . rude . . ." Lily struggled to find the right words. "In my eyes, he was as bad as Malfoy and his gang."

"Come on Lils, he couldn't have been _that_ bad."

"I'm dead serious. He would go around hexing innocent people for no reason! I don't know if he just wanted to show off or if he liked the power it gave him and the fear it caused in others or . . . who knows. Then every time he saw me he would try to act all cool and get me to like him . . . he was just bad news."

"I can't see that in him. Maybe him hexing people was just innocent fun?"

"There's nothing innocent about hexing people," Lily said darkly.

"No, you're right. But I don't think he did it to be evil either, he was just immature and wanted a laugh. He probably didn't realize how much he hurt others."

"Maybe," Lily said, though she looked unconvinced.

"Was Sirius the same way?" Rachel asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Pretty much. It's hard to say who was worse. Peter and Remus were the only ones who didn't do anything, though I suspect Peter would have joined in if he were a bit more . . . ah . . . talented, I suppose you could say. Remus is the only decent one, though I'm a bit disappointed that he didn't try harder to stop them."

"I know, I'm disappointed in myself too," came a dejected voice behind them. Rachel and Lily turned to see Remus standing there. He walked around the table to sit across from them.

Lily looked unabashed. "Don't worry about it Remus, it's in the past."

Rachel stared at her with incredulity and Lily seemed to read her mind. "I've told him this before. It's nothing new."

"Oh."

"Are you working on Potions?" Remus asked, seeing the book lying open before them.

"We were, but we went off on a few tangents," Lily answered casually.

"I know," Remus smiled wryly.

"Where are-"

"I heard the words 'prank' and 'Malfoy' so I took off," Remus said, he too seemingly read Rachel's mind.

Rachel stared off into nothingness. She was usually able to push those thoughts about her mother elsewhere, but they were brought back to the surface by certain trigger words. As of lately, one of those words was 'Malfoy'.

"Lily," Rachel said, sounding distant, "we haven't updated you on our latest information have we?"

"No."

"Remus, would you do the honours?" Rachel said, still distant.

Rachel had difficulty listening as Remus launched into the story.

"And this happened when?" Lily asked after Remus finished.

"A few days ago."

"Right, so let's get this straight," Lily began. "Natalia was born in Spain-"

"We don't necessarily know that. We know she _lived_ in Spain until her parents died."

"No, she _was_ born in Spain, her mom told her herself."

Remus looked away and muttered, "We decided not to rely too heavily upon what she told Rachel."

"Oh," Lily understood immediately the insinuation behind that. She felt a pang of pity for Rachel who couldn't trust her mother's words because they weren't reliable. "Er, okay. So let's make a rough timeline with the second source information first and then we'll tie in the first source info and see where it leaves us."

"Sure," Rachel said quietly. "According to Malfoy she lived in Spain until her parents died. That's when she moved in with the Castillos. When Melinda and Natalia turned eleven, they all moved here so the girls could go to Hogwarts."

Remus picked up where Rachel left off. "We don't know much about her at Hogwarts other than that she was a Gryffindor and Head Girl along with Stanton who also happened to be her boyfriend since the end of sixth year."

"Are these sources reliable?" Lily asked.

"Everything I just said was straight from McGonagall and I believe she is very reliable. As for Malfoy, I'm not sure."

"I think he is. I could see it in his eyes. He wasn't lying."

"He could be a good actor, but let's just say he wasn't lying. So Jared and Natalia lasted until Commencement?"

"According to McGonagall, yes. They probably lasted longer but she wouldn't know since I doubt she checked up on them or anything after that."

"So what happened after?"

"That's what we don't know. We can paint a vague picture with what little we know and what she told me herself, but it could be wrong."

"Let's try it then. Sometime between Commencement and her pregnancy with you, Ray, she and Jared ended and she found Dad."

"Let's go deeper than that," Remus said. "She was Head Girl in 1956, so that's when she finished school. Rachel was born in December of 1960. She had about four years to leave Jared and find Rick."

"Right, but don't forget that she met Rick in the States so she and Jared broke it off and she moved and met Rick," Rachel added.

Lily looked at her strangely. "Ray, Dad never lived in the States."

"Sure he did. My mom said that's where they met but he left to London when he found out she was pregnant. Then he met your mom and had you and Petunia," Rachel said confidently.

Lily looked at her in pain. It explained a lot of Rachel's resentment towards Rick. Her mom had lied to her more than she thought. "No Ray," she began gently, "your mom met Rick here and _she_ left _him_ when she found out she was pregnant."

Rachel stared hard at Lily. It couldn't be true. "Why would she do that?"

Lily sighed. "Don't you see the flaw in that Ray?"

"No."

"Well, haven't you noticed that both Petunia and I are older than you are?"

She had been so consumed with other things that she hadn't thought about it before, but now the realization finally dawned on her. Why hadn't she seen that? They had a party for Lily and she still hadn't paid attention to the fact that Lily was older. How could that have happened? "She-she had an affair with Rick?"

"So that's why she left?" Remus spoke up.

"I guess so. My mom found out about it a few days before you came, Ray, and that's one of the reasons Rick was so put out with you, it started fights with my mom."

"But she was always so nice to me."

"That's why I love my mom so much. She's compassionate Ray, she knew it wasn't your fault and she saw the pain you were in so she took you in as one of her own even though I'm sure it was a little hard for her. It doesn't mean she wasn't furious with Dad though."

Rachel looked depressed as she began gathering her books. "Well this sucks. Not only do I find out that my mom might have been a Death Eater but I also find out that she was a home wrecker. I'm going to bed; I'll see you all tomorrow."

Rachel flung herself on her bed when she reached her dormitory and was about to read or do something to distract her when she noticed Fiona staring at her. "What are you looking at?" she spat.

"Nothing much," Fiona answered nastily.

Something so simple should not have upset Rachel, but it did.

"Ray, James told me to remind you that there's practice in a few minutes. He reckoned you forgot," Lily explained. She hadn't noticed the tension in the room. It's a lucky thing Lily walked in at that moment because if not who knows what would have happened. Instead, Rachel grabbed her broom and took off to the Quidditch pitch.

Rachel was able to throw all of her frustration and anger into Quidditch that night, but by the time she finished all she was left with was pain and confusion. Sirius tried to talk to her but she wouldn't open up. She just trudged up to her room and went straight to bed.

She awoke the next morning feeling the same as last night. She showered, dressed, and headed down to eat breakfast while everyone else was just waking up.

She was one of the first people in the Great Hall and she preferred it this way. She took a piece of toast and took a bite only to put it down and walk out to take a walk out on the grounds; she wasn't feeling hungry, or much else for that matter. She was vaguely aware that it was Valentines Day but she couldn't bring herself to care. A small wave of guilt flooded her at the thought of Sirius but she quickly pushed that thought aside.

The day passed in a haze. Rachel went to classes and did what she was told, but all the while she was in a zombie-like state; she took the saying 'speak only when spoken to' to a whole new level.

Sirius watched her closely, worrying over her mental state. Remus and Lily had informed him of recent discoveries and he knew why Rachel was acting that way, what he didn't know was how to get her out of it. He decided to try _something_ after dinner.

"Belle, take a walk with me," he said more than asked. She looked up, slowly processing his request. She rose and followed him out onto the school grounds.

It was a cool night, the sun had already set and the moonlight danced on the lake's surface. Sirius put his arm around Rachel's waist and led her to the beech tree. He sat and pulled her next to him, his arm still wrapped around her. She stared at the water blankly, her mind miles away from what was in front of her.

Sirius didn't know where to begin, but he knew he had to say something. "Belle, I know what you found out," he said quietly.

Rachel seemed to come around. She looked up at him slowly and said, "do you now?"

"Yes," Sirius nodded. "How are you feeling?"

Rachel thought for a long time. "I'm not sure. Mostly depressed now, I suppose. It's just . . . hard, to take that all in. It's not even that as much as knowing that it's all true. All this time I thought of my mom as, well, perfect. Maybe not perfect but at least good, I never imagined she would be capable of the things she did. It's . . . overwhelming, unbelievable.

"I can't even put it in words. She lied to me, all along. I hated Rick before I even knew him because I thought he had abandoned my mom when all along, it was she who left. Her whole life was a lie so now I have no trouble believing that she was a Death Eater too."

Rachel found herself pouring this all out and it was, in a way, therapeutic. Sirius listened, glad that she was finally talking. "You don't know that she was. Just because she made a mistake doesn't mean that she was a Death Eater," he told her soothingly.

"She had an affair with a married man! That's hardly a mistake, it was premeditated. That's not it though, I'm also scared."

Sirius waited for her to go on, but she didn't. "Scared of what?" he prompted.

"What if . . . what if I turn out to be a home wrecking Death Eater like her?" she whispered, looking at Sirius with apprehension in her eyes.

"What makes you think that will happen?"

"It's in my genes."

Sirius sighed. "First of all, you don't know that she was a Death Eater. And secondly, genes has nothing to do with it. You make the decisions you make consciously, not because it's in your genes."

"What makes you so sure?"

He smiled wryly. "I'm sure because here I am, a Black in Gryffindor who strongly opposes any pureblood mania that my family strongly supports."

Rachel considered that. "I guess you're right. It's just, it hurts. My mom is gone and now the memory of her pure goodness is shattered by all of these . . . discoveries. It's . . . just bad."

Sirius saw the tears pooling around her eyes. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her tightly as she cried quietly into his chest. He rested his chin on her head and stroked her hair lightly with the hand closest to it. She was calm after a few minutes and looked up to see him.

"Thanks for listening," she whispered, her voice slightly hoarse from crying.

"You don't have to thank me for that," Sirius assured her. "That's what I'm here for."

She managed a small smile. "Thanks anyway. But I think I'm going to head to bed."

"You're right, you need rest," Sirius said as he rose, pulling Rachel with him.

They're walk to Gryffindor Tower was quiet. Rachel looked like she was about to knock out any at any second, and Sirius was lost in thought.

He knew his feelings for Rachel went beyond attraction; he genuinely cared for her. But what he was currently feeling was something much stronger, something new and frighteningly powerful. He had known her for only a short seven months, and only about two of those were spent as boyfriend and girlfriend, so he was surprised when the word _love_ popped into his head.

That was much too strong, he was sure, but then what was it? He pushed those disconcerting thoughts out of his head as he gave the Fat Lady the password and led Rachel to the stairs leading to the girl's dormitories. For a second he wished that he could stay with her for the night, holding her in his arms as she fell asleep, but he knew it wasn't possible. His thoughts were completely innocent, but he knew that it would start gossip and he wouldn't want Rachel to have to go through that.

Sighing, he watched as Rachel slowly made her way up. When he could no longer see her, he turned to his dormitory; sure he would find his friends already there. All in all, it wasn't the worst Valentine's Day ever.

_ Why is it so dark in here? I can't even see my own hands which I'm pretty sure I'm holding right in front of my face. Come on Ray, think. Where did I put my wand? Right, got it. "Lumos." What is this place? Wait, it's . . . what am I doing here? This is my old room. That can't be, I'm supposed to be at Hogwarts right now._

_ Who just screamed? Oh no, oh no, oh no. Don't panic Ray, stay calm. What should I do? I should really just jump out my window and make a run for it, except it's pitch black outside too. Oh gosh, I'm so scared I want to cry. Be brave, come on. There goes the scream again. It sounds like a little boy. I'm crying now. Be brave Ray, go find him._

_ It's just my luck that my room is a mess and I trip on who knows what, almost falling. Okay, this is the hallway. It all looks exactly like I remember it. I can see a dim light glowing from under what would be my mom's door. My legs are rooted to the floor, I feel such a sense of foreboding that I can't move. The living room is to my left. If I can just make it over there and out the door, I'll be free. But free of what? Maybe it's safer in here. Maybe I should just go back to my room and hide until someone comes._

_ That's someone crying, and I'm sure it's coming from her room. Get a grip, stop crying. Who care if this fear is beyond anything I've felt before. Move forward. Be brave, it's nothing. Right, like I'm going to believe that. Has it really only been a couple of minutes? It feels like hours, but I'm at the door._

_ Don't open it Rachel. Just turn around and run._

_ No, be brave. You have to help whoever is yelling and crying._

_ Run Rachel. This can't be anything good._

_ Are you a witch or not? You can protect yourself._

_ Unless it's another witch or wizard who's stronger and more experienced._

_ Ugh, the sobbing is getting louder. I'm stuck, I don't know what to do and the tears are still rolling down my face. Close your eyes and just listen. There's nothing but that wretched sobbing. Gosh, what am I doing here? I'm scared out of my mind. So much for staying calm._

_ Just do it._

_ Is it crazy that in such a moment of fear, I think of the Nike motto? I really am scared _out of my mind_. Open the door Ray. Okay, so no one has jumped out and cursed me, yet, but where were all the noises coming from? Ah, there he is. The boy, no older than seven I'm sure, curled up in the corner. What is he staring at though. Oh, no, that body looks strangely familiar. Stop crying Rachel. It's not who you think it is. Too bad it is. Walk, go to the body, good. Steven's still alive. I'm mortified, and my sobs come out once again. So Steven is unconscious and there's a random boy in the corner. Hmm. He's not a random boy, it's is his little brother. Oh gosh I should say something to him but I'm too afraid to talk, I doubt I even could if I tried._

_ So he's not staring at Steven anymore but something behind me. Great. That's always a good sign. I'm shaking now and the last thing I want to do is turn around, but I do anyway, and there she is. The most terrifying sight I have ever seen._

_ She's dressed in all black, her wand pointing at me. I assume she's responsible for whatever it is that happened here. I hardly register that though because I'm more frightened by her face. Her expression is a mixture of fury and insanity with a touch of amusement. She has a wicked smile and her eyes are narrowed and . . . red. It can't be, it's not true. That . . . thing . . . standing there is not my mother. Too bad it is._

"Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!" a bloodcurdling scream erupted through the dormitory.

"Rachel? Rachel! What's wrong?" came Lily's voice from her bed. She jumped up and rushed to Rachel's side.

Rachel sat up in bed, drenched in cold sweat and panting. "I- she- it-" she couldn't form a sentence. She just kept panting, trying to calm down before she hyperventilated. The rest of the girls stared at her, not knowing what to do.

The scream had woken up practically the entire Tower and it wasn't long before the Marauders barged into the dormitory looking worried. A crowd of scared-looking girls had formed at the door.

"I just had a nightmare," Rachel was able to choke out in between her sobs.

Sirius rushed to her and wrapped her in his arms. "Shh, it's okay," he whispered to her. She was shaking uncontrollably.

They heard the portrait door open from a distance and weren't surprised to see Professor McGonagall come into the room. "What is going on here?" she demanded in a strict voice.

"Nothing Professor, Rachel just had a nightmare," Sirius answered.

McGonagall looked around the room at the startled faces and said wearily, "I do not know, nor do I have a desire to know, how you boys were able to get here. I do, however, expect everyone to go back to bed." She left without another word. All the students, with the exception of Sirius, slowly went back to their dormitories. The girls who shared the dormitory also went back to sleep after making sure everything was alright.

"Do you feel better now?" Sirius whispered once Rachel's breathing was back to normal.

"A bit," she answered weakly.

"It's been a long day for you. You should try to get some rest."

"I don't know if I can go back to sleep. What if I have another nightmare?"

"You won't, just close your eyes and you'll fall asleep in no time."

"Would- do you think you could, um, stay with me for the rest of the night?" Rachel asked shyly.

Sirius looked at her pleading eyes. This was what he had wanted, but he knew what people were going to say about her and that was the last thing he wanted for her. Still, one night wouldn't hurt, besides, she needed him, or so he told himself. "Sure," he answered.

He closed the hangings around the bed and got under the blankets. She snuggled against him and he held her. Soon they both fell asleep.

Rachel woke up alone the next morning. She vaguely wondered where Sirius had gone, or if she had dreamed the whole thing. She walked down to the Great Hall with the girls, since the boys had already left, and sat down next to Sirius when she spotted him.

"Sorry I left so early, I just didn't want anyone to say anything," Sirius apologized as she sat down.

"No problem, I'm glad you thought about that," Rachel gave him a reassuring smile. She would not have liked it if rumors had started about them . . .

"Look, a letter for you," Sirius said, handing her a letter one of the owls just dropped.

Rachel opened it and read. Sirius peered at it too.

_ Rachel,_

_ I received your last letter and I completely understand your point. Of course it would be difficult to move and I know Adam is not particularly fond of leaving Steven behind either, so I have a better alternative. Before I tell you what it is, just know I went through the Ministry for this and I even talked to the Potters. The Potters told me they have no problem having you there, but I still feel it's my responsibility to take care of you. That's why I went to the Ministry and got the ok to bring you back! The boys and I really miss you and this way you can finish your last year of schooling with all of your friends. That's all the news I have for now._

_ -Sincerely,_

_ J. Jones_

Rachel finished the letter at the same time Sirius did. They locked eyes but said nothing.

* * *

I busted missions to post this chapter. My computer is acting up and. . . let's just say I need a new one. I hope you all enjoyed this and that I didn't waste my time trying to update : ( 


	23. A Not So Sleepless Night

Okay, so if you remember last chapter I left off with the letter from Mr. Jones suggesting that Rachel go back to her old home. Find out what she says : )

* * *

"You aren't leaving, are you?" Sirius asked after a minute of silence.

Rachel didn't answer right away. She wanted both so badly. She grew up with her surrogate dad, Adam, and Steven. She loved Southern California with its beautiful beaches, hot sunny days, and great memories. She loved going down to the beach and surfing for hours on end with her friends and getting into all sorts of trouble.

On the other hand, she had her new life here. London wasn't so bad; the cold, wet weather just took some getting used to. It could even be beautiful. As for the memories, she could make new ones here. Besides, she had new friends and a boyfriend.

A boyfriend . . . she forced herself to look into Sirius' eyes. He looked . . . she couldn't name the emotion there. Maybe it was sorrow, maybe it was consternation, maybe both, maybe more. That touched her heart. How could she leave Sirius? The thought of it alone made her shudder. She couldn't bring herself to do it, she felt so strongly about him. Did she love him? Love?

"Of course not. I- I can't leave you." She had almost said 'I love you', but she changed her mind mid-sentence. She was scared. What if he didn't feel the same way? She would just wait until he said it first.

"Isn't this what you want though?" Sirius asked her.

Rachel smiled. He was so wonderful that he would trade his happiness for her own. "No, it isn't. At first, before I knew anyone, I did. All last summer I wished for this to happen, but everything is so different now; I can't leave all of this behind. I can't leave you behind."

"But-"

"It's simple Padfoot. I'm staying wherever you are. You aren't going to the States, so neither am I."

"I don't want you to miss out on happiness because of me."

"You're so silly sometimes. Don't you see that I'm happy when I'm with you? Sure I miss everyone over there, but I would miss you more if I left."

Sirius thought about that for a second. He didn't know exactly why he was insisting she think it over so much. He should have just agreed with her the first time she said no. He supposed that it was only because he wanted the best for her. If she left, he would be hurt, but at least she would be happy. It just surprised him that he meant so much to her.

They had been going out for a couple of months and he knew she cared about him like he cared for her, but to feel this strongly? It was something new and strange, but not completely unwanted. The question was, did she feel as strongly for him as he did for her?

"Do I really mean that much to you?" he asked quietly.

Rachel blushed. What should she say? "Uh, yeah, you really do," she said quietly, hoping no one at the table was listening to their conversation.

"You mean a lot to me too," he whispered softly in her ear.

She looked up and searched his eyes. They were warm and full of . . . love?

He leaned in and planted a small kiss on her lips. "Let's get to class."

0o0o0

The rest of February seemed to fly by. Before anyone knew it, March had arrived. Rachel wrote back to Mr. Jones and thanked him for his offer but assured him that she would rather stay where she was. He accepted her decision but still insisted that she visit them for at least a week or two during the summer. She agreed.

School was the same as ever. Teachers were already preparing the sixth years for their N.E.W.T.s even though they were a year away. Rachel had to spend more time studying and doing homework than usual, and that combined with Quidditch and the odd detention here and there kept her rather busy. James and Sirius rarely ever picked up a book so they killed time in other ways while Rachel studied with Remus, and Peter whenever he decided to join them.

Quidditch practices weren't particularly strenuous since their last game was against Hufflepuff and was a month and a half away. They still had practices thrice a week, but not daily like before the Ravenclaw and Slytherin games. Perhaps Mendez would increase the practices as the game neared, but right now Rachel enjoyed the lax conditioning.

All things considered, Rachel's days were great. Nights were a different story. She kept having nightmares, or rather, she kept having the same nightmare over and over again. She had gotten used to it enough that she wouldn't wake up screaming in the middle of the night like she did the first time, but she still couldn't sleep. She would wake up every night in a cold sweat, and then it would take her ages to get back to sleep.

Sirius noticed that she always had dark circles under her eyes and guessed that it was from lack of sleep. He questioned Rachel about it but she didn't want to worry him so said nothing about it. He finally went to Lily.

Sirius was in the common room with James, Peter, and Lily. James was busy helping Peter with a homework assignment. This was not something James would usually do, but he decided that he would try to impress Lily by being mature and kind. Sirius took this opportunity to ask Lily why Rachel wasn't getting enough sleep.

"Hey Lily, do you know why Rachel hasn't been sleeping much?" he asked her.

She looked surprised at the question. "She hasn't told you?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Obviously not since I'm asking you."

"Hey, don't get smart with me, Black," Lily shot at him.

"Whoa! I was just teasing, Lily! But really, do you know?"

"She's been having nightmares, or a nightmare, to be more exact."

Sirius waited for her to go on but she didn't. "Care to elaborate?" he asked impatiently.

"Remember that night about two weeks ago that she woke up screaming?"

Sirius nodded.

"It's the same nightmare, over and over again," Lily continued. "She wakes up at random hours of the night and doesn't sleep much after. At first she would scream a little, though never as loud as the first time. After a couple of days though, she stopped and now just wakes up scared."

"How do you know?" Sirius asked.

"What are you two whispering about over there?" James asked. He was sitting across from them at a small table, still helping Peter.

"Nothing, Prongs. Just something about Belle," Sirius said dismissively. James seemed content with the answer and Sirius motioned for Lily to carry on.

"She would wake us all up with her yells and muttering the first couple of days. I assume she got used to the dream enough not to yell anymore so we didn't wake up, but I knew she still wasn't sleeping."

"Why wouldn't she tell me this? There's nothing wrong with having nightmares," Sirius said, more to himself than anything.

"I'm worried about her, Sirius. I don't think she's handling this very well. She's . . . I don't know . . . burying it inside herself only to have it come out at night. She needs to deal with it and move on, but she isn't. I don't know how to help her."

Sirius pondered this for a couple of seconds. "I don't know how either. Unless . . ."

"Unless?" Lily prompted when she saw Sirius trail off in thought.

"Have you ever heard the saying 'the truth shall set you free'?"

"Yes," Lily answered slowly, trying to see where he was going with this. "Oh! You think Rachel needs to know the truth before she can move on?"

"I think that's exactly what he's trying to say," said a voice from behind them. Lily jumped in fright.

"Moony! You almost gave Lily here a heart attack!"

Remus snickered.

"I'm glad to see my health means so much to you," Lily teased, then seemed to remember something. "Where's Rachel? Weren't you with her at the library?"

"Yeah, but Ryan showed up and I figured I'd let them catch up," Remus answered offhandedly.

"You left her alone with him?" Sirius demanded angrily.

"Yes I did," Remus answered calmly.

"Why? It's almost ten! Remember what happened wi-"

"Padfoot, she's sixteen and more than capable of taking care of herself when talking to someone in the library," Remus said, retaining his calm tone to quell any apprehension. He could see that Sirius hadn't forgotten the episode with Malfoy, but Rachel was with Ryan _in the library_ for Merlin's sake! Even if Ryan were a danger, which he wasn't, he wouldn't get away with anything with Madam Pince watching.

Still, Sirius walked out of Gryffindor Tower grumbling something in an undertone.

0o0o0

"So Ry, how have you been?" Rachel asked when Remus had left.

"I've been . . ." Ryan paused to think. "Busy," he finished with a wry smile.

"Hmm, I can only imagine, what with N.E.W.T.s coming up and whatnot," Rachel said, returning his smile.

"Yup, there's just so much studying to do, and that added on top of practicing for our match against Slytherin next Saturday . . . I'm surprised I haven't dropped dead already," he chuckled.

"You wouldn't drop dead, you can't disappoint your new girlfriend," Rachel smirked.

"I can't imagine what you could possibly mean by that," Ryan lied teasingly.

"Ry-an!" Rachel said, separating his name into syllables. "Come on! You have to tell me! Who is she?"

Ryan laughed in earnest. "All about the latest gossip aren't you?" he asked, ruffling her hair lightly.

"No, not gossip. I'm just . . . looking out for my friend's well-being," Rachel grinned impishly.

The truth was that Rachel was a bit jealous. Though she didn't fancy Ryan, she was vain enough to want to know who was possibly good enough to catch his attention the way she had. She was eager to know if she was beautiful, or what it was that appealed to him and if she was any match for her.

"Well, if you must know, it's Emily," Ryan said, unable to hide his ridiculous grin.

"Emily Michaels? The seventh year Hufflepuff?" Rachel asked.

"That's her," Ryan answered proudly.

Emily Michaels was very pretty and kind. Part of Rachel was happy that Ryan moved on and found someone so sweet. The other part was thinking that though Emily was pretty, she was no match for her. Rachel worked to suppress her jealous, vain side so she could be truly happy for him.

"That's wonderful Ryan! I don't know her very well but she seems like a nice girl," she told him.

Ryan's eyes were twinkling. "She is. I'm lucky to have her."

_No, she's the lucky one_, Rachel thought.

She noticed Sirius coming towards them. _Then again, I'm lucky too_.

"Hi Belle, Stanton," Sirius said upon reaching the table they were at.

"Hi Black," Ryan returned, using surnames as Sirius had.

"Have a seat," Rachel offered.

"Er, no thanks," Sirius declined. "I actually came to get you. It's almost curfew and I wanted to make sure you didn't get a detention," Sirius lied.

Rachel and Ryan didn't buy it. "You didn't want her to break the rules?" Ryan asked incredulously.

"You're forgetting I'm with the Head Boy," Rachel smiled. "He wouldn't give me a detention if he's the reason I'm out past curfew."

"That does sound a bit ridiculous, doesn't it? Well, I guess I was just worried about you, Belle. Moony came back without you and I guess I just panicked," Sirius answered honestly this time.

Rachel lit up. "That's really sweet."

"As much as I hate to break up this happy moment, Sirius was right," Ryan cut in, reverting to using first names. "It's five 'til ten. We should get going."

"Yeah, we should keep in touch Ryan. I enjoy talking to you," Rachel said.

Ryan chuckled slightly. "You'd think that wouldn't be hard to do since we both live here."

"True, but we'd better be off. I'll see you around Ry, and best of luck with Emily," Rachel said as Sirius ushered her out of the library.

"Bye, Ray."

Rachel waited until they were at the end of the corridor to talk. "Was that necessary?" she asked, an edge of annoyance to her voice.

"Was what necessary?" Sirius asked, clearly at a loss as to why Rachel was annoyed.

"Dragging me out like you couldn't wait to seconds for me to say bye to Ryan."

"Oh, that. I just, er, I want to talk to you. Care to join me on a walk on the grounds?"

Rachel looked out a nearby window. "I don't know. It looks really cold outside."

Sirius smirked. "Is the cold too much for you to handle?"

"Of course not," she answered haughtily, pushing past him and walking towards the entrance hall.

"I can always count on her tenacity," Sirius muttered to himself.

They reached the grounds without getting caught, but that was the least of Rachel's worries. Her teeth were clattering and she was shivering uncontrollably.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked.

Rachel rolled her eyes; that had to be one of the stupidest questions ever._Of course, I'm only about to freeze, but other than that, I'm fine. _"Yes," she answered curtly.

Sirius chuckled at her obstinacy. She was clearly cold but she would never admit it. He shrugged out of his cloak and handed it to her, "here."

"I'm not cold," she insisted.

"Of course you aren't. Just take it."

She eyed the cloak and took it gratefully, though she didn't let it show. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Sirius led her towards the lake and they began walking around the edge. "Actually, I just finished talking to Lily." Sirius noticed Rachel tense at his words.

"Oh? What about?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant but not quite managing it.

"About your lack of sleep."

She sighed and wearily asked, "what did she say?"

"She told me that you hardly sleep because of your nightmare. The same nightmare from about two weeks ago."

"Hmm, how interesting," Rachel said, not volunteering any further information.

Sirius stopped walking now and pulled Rachel to him. "Belle, we need to talk about this."

"There isn't anything to talk about," she answered quietly. This was not something she wanted to talk about, mostly because she didn't want to have to think about it. It was bad enough having to revisit the same dream night after night, but to have to think about it while she was conscious was asking a little too much.

"Yes there is, this isn't healthy. I don't know how to help you, but I feel I have to do _something_," he insisted.

"There's nothing you can do, there's nothing anyone can do," she answered in the same quiet voice. She was looking down, fighting back the tears threatening to spill out.

Sirius lifted her chin so he could see her eyes. "There has to be, Belle. There has to be."

"Don't get you hopes up," she whispered inaudibly.

His finger was still holding her chin up. He leaned down and lightly brushed his lips against hers. "I'll figure something out. Let's get you inside into the warmth."

They managed to make into Gryffindor Tower undetected thanks to the Marauder's Map. In the common room Sirius was able to charm a couple of second year girls into giving up their seats by the fire.

"Better?" he asked as he sat in the now-vacant chair next to Rachel.

She just nodded slightly, already lost in thought.

"Belle? Look at me, what's wrong?" The concern in his voice was evident.

When Rachel wouldn't face him Sirius gently took her face in his hands and turned it. He saw tears trailing down her cheeks. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," she whispered hoarsely. "I guess I just don't like thinking about it."

"Maybe you should go to bed," he suggested.

She shook her head. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

Sirius just stared at her pleading eyes knowing that it wasn't a good idea.

"I'm just afraid of falling asleep," she continued.

"Belle, it's not that I don't want to but . . . you know people are going to talk right?"

She looked down. "I know, but as long as we know that we aren't doing anything wrong then . . . I really don't care."

"Okay," Sirius finally said after some thought. "But how about we stay in my dormitory tonight, it's much easier for me."

"Sure, I'll go change and meet in there?"

"See you in a bit," Sirius nodded.

Rachel rushed upstairs, excited at the prospect of finally having a tranquil night with Sirius at her side. She hurriedly changed into the only pyjamas she owned and went over to the boy's dormitory. It was empty except for Sirius who was already dressed and lying down.

"This is earlier than my normal bedtime, but extra sleep never killed anyone," he grinned.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she walked over to his bed and lay next to him.

"It's okay," he assured her, his grin still in place. He closed the hangings and wrapped his arms around her.

"Thanks for doing this, Padfoot."

"My pleasure Belle, now get some rest," he whispered softly in her ear. She really didn't know how much he loved just having her there next to him. _What I wouldn't give to this every night._

Rachel fell asleep in a matter of minutes, faster than she had in weeks.

Rachel's eyes shot open and she tried to forget the face that had haunted her nights. The face of a death eater. The face of her mother.

She hadn't even noticed that she was shaking slightly until she felt Sirius stir beside her.

"Ray, what's wrong? Are you okay?" his concern was perceptible through his grogginess.

"I'm fine," she said, though her tone was hardly convincing.

Sirius was more awake now and he propped himself on his elbow and stroked her cheek. "Relax Belle, it was just a dream," he whispered softly in her ear. "Just close your eyes and go back to sleep. I'm right next to you, I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Rachel closed her eyes and the next time she opened them the sun was up. She felt something holding her and it took her a couple of seconds to remember that it was Sirius. She turned around to gaze at him. He looked so serene when he slept, not to mention incredibly gorgeous. She gave him a small peck on the cheek and got off the bed as carefully as she could so she wouldn't wake him. Then she left to her dormitory to shower and dress. All things considered, she had more rest last night than she had had in a while.

* * *

So this chapter is mostly fluff, if that, but it sets up the next chapter nicely. I just realized how long it's been taking me lately to update lately, and I'm sorry! I know I get impatient when waiting for updates on other stories so I'm sorry for making you wait! I promise I'll post the next chapter within two weeks or less : )

That being said, I hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reading!


	24. Caught

I reposted this chapter, it's the same except for the prank at the end. I felt it was pretty lame just like that but I couldn't think of anything else at the time. Now that I have, I added it.

* * *

"You would not believe what happened last night!" Fiona whispered to Miranda at breakfast that morning.

"What?" Miranda asked, eager to hear the latest bit of gossip.

"Rachel Evans went to Sirius' dormitory last night and didn't come back until this morning!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Do you think they-"

"Of course they did, Miranda. This is Sirius Black we're talking about. I knew it was only a matter of time before he got her in bed, I just thought it would take longer. I didn't think Rachel was a-" Fiona stopped talking when she noticed Lily standing behind her.

"Why don't you finish that sentence Fiona? You didn't think Rachel was a what?"

Fiona glared at Lily and opened her mouth to finish her original sentence but Miranda cut her off. "It was nothing Lily, we meant nothing by it."

"I'm sure you didn't," Lily said sarcastically. "You two seem to forget that I'm a prefect. I'd watch what I say if I were you." She strolled over to where Melody and Julie were sitting with Remus and Peter.

"What was that about?" Peter asked.

"Sirius and Rachel," was all Lily had to say.

"I thought so," Remus said, his brows creasing.

"Do you think this is going to be bad?" Melody asked.

"People love gossip, Mel, especially when it's about someone as popular as the 'marauders'," Remus answered, using air quotes.

"They're coming," Peter warned them.

Lily turned and sure enough, there came James, Sirius, and Rachel.

"Good morning ladies! Moony, Wormtail, good to see you," James said, full of cheer.

"Don't ask, he's been like this all morning," Sirius muttered when he saw Peter's questioning look.

"Is there something wrong with being in a good mood in the morning?" he asked, still in high spirits.

"This early in the morning, yes," Sirius grumbled while piling food on his plate.

Rachel had her head in her arms with her eyes closed when she heard it.

"Look, see! They're both tired and half asleep. That's because they didn't sleep last night, if you know what I mean."

"You're right, but you'd think she'd be hungry after all that. Sirius sure is eating a lot."

Rachel looked up to see Fiona and Miranda staring at her. She glared at them and they turned away.

"Sorry," Sirius muttered. He had heard the girls too.

"Don't be, you warned me that this would happen. I'll just ignore them." Rachel assured him.

"Alright, but you really should eat something before class."

Rachel obliged ate some eggs and hash browns.

"What did you want to talk about Sev?" Rachel asked as she walked with Severus that night after receiving a note telling her to meet him.

"I just wanted to know if what Fiona said is true."

"You and the rest of the school," Rachel muttered darkly.

Rachel quickly recapped the events of Potions in her mind. Fiona sat at the table next to Sirius and Rachel, making stupid comments about what she assumed happened last night. Rachel ignored her for a while but Fiona was relentless so Rachel told her to shut her trap. Soon enough they were in an argument and that's when Professor Slughorn stepped in. He asked what was happening and Fiona decided to shout 'Rachel is a tart' and went on to explain why.

"Well? Is it true?"

"Does it matter?"

"Do you have something to hide?"

"No I don't. Yes I did stay in his dormitory but we did nothing. Believe what you will, but we just slept."

Severus smirked. "I never took you as that type of girl."

Rachel ignored his last comment. "Is that all you wanted to talk about? If it is I'll just go now."

"There's just one more thing."

"What?"

"This is the end of whatever friendship we had."

There, he said what he needed to say. He had let this drag on too far but now the fork in the road was unavoidable. She had chosen her path and he had chosen his.

"Why?" Rachel asked in a small voice. It wasn't as if they were the best of friends, but the attachment she had acquired for him during the summer was hard to let go of.

"You know why, we've chosen our ways. You don't like my crowd and I don't like yours and the reasons for that run deeper than just mutual dislike. It's time to break away."

"It doesn't have to be this way Sev," Rachel mumbled. She wasn't sure why she was fighting so hard against this; she just knew it would hurt to lose a friend. She hadn't let go of the hope that deep down Severus was a decent person. At the very least he had been there for her when she needed him most. She couldn't easily let go.

"Yes it does _Evans_. I don't associate with loose women," he said coldly.

Rachel felt as if she had been slapped. "You have an uncanny ability to ruin things with the only true friends you have; first Lily and now me. At this rate, you'll end up alone, _Snape_."

Snape watched Rachel walk away with a pang of regret. Her last words were truer than she knew, but this is the way it had to be. The path he had chosen was a lonely one, few of them could find a significant other. He had heard that Bellatrix Black was seeing someone by the name Lestrange, but that was rare on this difficult path. It was either his friendship with the Evans girls or his future as a Death Eater, as they call themselves. So why had he chosen this?

There were a few reasons he could think of and there were more he couldn't. Partly was because he was a Slytherin it, partly was because they accepted him. When no one else would, when his own friend was sorted into a different house and 'left' him, _they_ didn't. Would it have been different if he had found a different crowd to be around? Would he have chosen a different path had he been accepted by another group? Maybe, or maybe not; there are other reasons for his decision. His group also had the same interests, the dark arts, and yes, the same beliefs.

Severus had it tough growing up, what with an abusive father and whatnot. He always knew he was a wizard so he took some old books of his mother's and read for hours on end. By the time he started Hogwarts he knew more than half of the seventh years. Growing up, he also learned to hate muggles. He saw the way his father was and figured that that's how all muggles were. He met Lily and his views changed, only a little. He then believed that muggle-born witches and wizards were okay, but muggles were still evil. After all, Petunia did nothing to dispel his belief. He then met Rachel a few years later and found out how terrible Rick was . . . it only strengthened his beliefs. Those were the reasons he could think of, was there anything underneath the surface?

o0o0o

"Belle, what's wrong?" Sirius asked with the smallest hint of exasperation in his tone.

Rachel was on her bed bawling. Sirius had seen her run up to the dormitory and followed her, wondering why she hadn't stopped to say hi.

"S-Se-Severus and I aren't friends anymore," she managed between sobs.

Sirius snorted. "And that's a bad thing?"

Rachel immediately tensed and sat up. "You are the most insensitive prat I have ever met!" she shouted before storming out of the dormitory and out of the common room.

Rachel wasn't sure where she was walking, her tears were blinding her. That's why she was surprised when she collided against something very solid. Before she could fall though, two strong arms caught her.

"Rachel? Are you okay?"

Was it really only a few months ago that she had had a similar encounter with Sirius? Rachel wiped her eyes to clear her vision. "Ryan?"

"It's after hours Ray, you should head back . . ." Rachel shook her head. "Or we can find somewhere to talk for a bit. We'd better hurry though; I'm supposed to be doing my Head Boy duties."

He led her to an empty classroom nearby. "Does this have anything to do with the rumours going around?"

I shouldn't be surprised that you've heard, and yes, I suppose that does have a lot to do with it."

"You want to talk about it?"

Rachel didn't hesitate. "I'm just frustrated about the rumours. All the girls look at me like I'm promiscuous while Sirius gets high-fives from random guys! And we didn't even do anything!"

"So what they're saying are lies?"

"Don't tell me you believed it . . . what kind of girl do you take me for?"

"It's not that Ray, it's just that Sirius is a guy."

"I'll have you know that Sirius hasn't ever tried to go further than a small kiss."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Is it so hard to believe that he respects me?"

"No, but guys will be guys and don't be so naive as to think that it's never crossed his mind. When I heard the rumours I just figured he decided to act on those thoughts."

"I'm glad to know you think so highly of me."

Ryan chose to ignore that. "Has Sirius bothered to correct anyone who gives him high-fives?"

"Yes, but they don't usually believe him."

"It'll die down, but I'll do what I can to get the people I know to stop."

"Thanks Ryan, you're the best," Rachel said, giving him a big hug.

"What's going on here?"

Rachel wheeled around to see Sirius standing in the doorway.

"Nothing Sirius, I just crashed into Rachel and she looked distraught s-"

"So you decided to come in here and comfort her in private?"

"Stop it Padfoot. Nothing happened, we were just talking. It's not as if you came looking for me."

"I'm here now aren't I?"

"Only because Remus made you," Ryan stated.

Rachel and Sirius stared at him, forgetting their argument.

"My mother taught me Occlumency," Ryan explained.

Rachel made a mental note to avoid eye contact with Ryan when necessary while exchanging a dark look with Sirius.

"Wow, Occlumency, that's really something."

"Hey Ry, I just remembered seeing your dad's name on the Head Boy list! I had wanted to ask you if that's why you wanted to be Head Boy or if the headmaster just chose you."

Ryan thought this was an odd time to bring this up but answered anyway. "I followed in my father's footsteps. He always told me that being Head Boy was the best thing that happened to him. He said that not only was it an honour to have that title but he was also in love with the Head Girl and that enabled them to spend a lot more time together."

"So your mom was the Head Girl?" Sirius asked. He knew the real answer but he was fishing for more information.

"Er, no. It was someone by the name of Natalia Sandoval. I mentioned to you, Rachel, that my parents' marriage was arranged. He was always in love with this Natalia, perhaps he still is, but he wasn't able to marry her."

"That's so sad! Does he know what happened to her?"

"He never told me, but I really have to get back to my duties and you two have to go back to your common room. We never saw each other," Ryan winked and left the room.

"I had forgotten about that," Rachel mumbled.

"Forgotten what?"

"On our first date, Ryan told me that his dad didn't agree with the whole pureblood stuff but his mom did. So don't go thinking that just because his mom taught him Occlumency that he's going to be a Death Eater or anything okay, I'm sure he's on his dad's side. He also told me that his parents had an arranged marriage; I thought my mom and Jared had just broken things off. It changes things to know that they loved each other but were forced apart, and by her own step sister too."

"Don't get mad, but it sounds like a soap opera."

"It does, except don't those usually have the happy ending?"

Sirius chuckled. "As far as I know, they don't have an ending. They go on forever."

"I feel sorry for both of them. I suppose it would be like us being forced apart, only worse."

"We were almost forced apart Belle, that's one reason I ran away. But why was it worse for them?"

"Because they were together for over a year, they loved each other."

"And we don't?"

Rachel breath caught in her throat and her heart stared racing. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? "Do you?"

"More than you know." He pulled Rachel to him and kissed her soundly.

"It's funny how you managed to tell me you love me without actually saying the words," Rachel murmured.

Sirius laughed lightly at her observation. "I love you. But I'm a bit nervous that you don't feel the same way." Though he said he was nervous, there was nothing but confidence in both his voice and features.

"Don't be, I love you too."

"Good," he smiled. "Now let's get back to the common room before we get caught."

"Okay, but don't think I've forgotten why I was mad at you in the first place," Rachel said as she let Sirius lead her towards Gryffindor Tower.

"And don't think I forgot who I caught you with."

"Ryan is just a friend, and an apology would be nice."

"I did nothing wrong, you just overreacted."

"I overreacted? You were being completely insensitive!"

"Let's not start this again Belle. We did what we did, now let it go."

"Are you so proud that you can't even admit when you're wrong and just apologize?"

"Are you so stubborn and spiteful that you can't let it go?"

"Stop avoiding my question."

"I'll apologize when I think I did something wrong," Sirius said before giving the Fat Lady the password.

"Were you not being insensitive?" Rachel asked as she made her way over to where James, Remus, and Peter were sitting.

"No, you were being overly sensitive."

"No I wasn't, he was my friend," Rachel said quietly. "I guess that on top of everything else that's been going on sort of pushed me over the edge."

Sirius instantly looked remorseful. "I'm sorry Ray, you're right, I was insensitive."

"I guess I was a bit sensitive too."

"Ugh, you two make me sick. 'I'm sorry', 'no I'm sorry', 'no I'm sorry-'"

"Shut it Wormtail," Rachel said, a blush creeping up her neck.

"I agree with Worm on this one. You need to get a grip Padfoot! Men don't apologize to women!"

"Right, like you never apologize to Lily."

"That's different. Once you have the girl you stop all that pretending," James said, a glint of humour in his eyes.

"Is that so?"

James wheeled around and found himself face to face with none other than Lily. "I was only joking, you know that Lils."

"Do I? And don't call me 'Lils'."

"Ha you're in for it now! But as much as I'd love to stick around to see this, I had better get to bed. I'm ready to knock out, night everyone," Rachel told the group.

"Where are you staying?" Sirius asked her before she left.

"All things considered, I think I'll take my chances trying to sleep by myself," Rachel grimaced.

"Alright, goodnight love." He gave her a small kiss before sending her off.

March slipped into April and Rachel was glad that the talking did eventually die down. Ryan, true to his word, did manage to get most of the Ravenclaws to stop the gossiping, and after a couple of weeks it stopped altogether. Of course, the Slytherins were an exception.

April passed with little event. The routine of classes and school work, which was steadily increasing, took over. Occasionally James, Sirius, and Rachel would pull a small prank. Nothing big, just a dung bomb here or a charm there; Remus and Peter would help if it was nothing that would land them in detention. Quidditch was still slow, only three practices a week and they lasted no longer than an hour. Mendez assured his team that practices would pick up in May; he was determined to win the Quidditch Cup even though it was pretty much already in the bag.

May arrived and surprised the students of Hogwarts. Where had time gone? A little over a month and they would be out for the summer. Rachel had been doing much better coping with things which is why James, Peter and Remus were surprised to see her storm into the common room fuming and muttering under her breath one day after lunch. Sirius walked in after her looking concerned.

"What's with her?" Peter asked Sirius.

Sirius sighed. "We ran in to Snivellus and some other Slytherins on our way up here."

"It's been months and still they talk about it!" Rachel practically shouted. "Why can't they just drop it? It's so stupid!"

"Take a deep breath Belle, relax," Remus told her.

"Don't tell m-"

"I think it's time we prank the Slytherins. We haven't pulled off anything big in too long and they would be the perfect target," James interrupted.

Sirius grinned widely. "What did you have in mind Prongs?"

O0O0O

"No way! I'm staying out of this one Padfoot, don't you dare try to drag me in," Remus exclaimed.

"Come on Moony, the Slytherins are all prats so you shouldn't feel guilty!"

"No Prongs, I'm not taking any part in this. This is taking things too far. I refuse."

"Fine, are you in Worm?"

"I'm with Moony on this one, this is too serious."

"It's just going to be the three of us Prongs and Belle. We'll meet you two pansies in History of Magic."

Sirius, Rachel, and James set off towards the grand entrance. Before reaching it, they snuck into an empty room and pulled out the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak.

"Okay, do you remember the plan?" Sirius asked Rachel and James.

"Yes, we wait under the cloak for someone to either go in or come out of the common room."

"Once they do, we throw these bad boys in there," James finished, patting a bulge in his robe pockets.

"Excellent, there should only be a few people in there since not everyone has a free period so it won't be too bad."

"Right, well let's get under the cloak then."

James held it up for the other two but they soon found that it was too small for the three of them.

"I guess it's a good thing that the other two didn't come," Rachel muttered. She changed into her animagus form and flew to Sirius' shoulder.

"At least you'll still be able to see their reactions. Let's go."

They walked towards the dungeons and found themselves in front of a long stretch of empty wall they knew to be the entrance to the common room. They leaned against the opposite wall to wait for someone to open it, careful not to make any noise. About ten minutes later a Slytherin seventh year girl muttered 'parseltongue' and the wall slid open. James took the garrotting gas bombs from his pocket and tossed them in; no one seemed to notice the little black balls fly into the common room.

After waiting a couple of minutes, Sirius and James walked up to the wall and repeated the password they had heard the girl say: "Parseltongue."

The wall slid open once again and revealed a common room with about fourteen people knocked out.

"Ha! They work fast!"

"This is great! Now for phase two."

The three of them tar and feathered the passed out Slytherins. They didn't stir one bit.

"You can never go wrong with a good old fashioned tar and feathering," James grinned.

"Let's leave before we get caught," Rachel warned. The three took off to their common room without the cover of the invisibility cloak. As they walked down the corridor, they passed a couple of fifth year Slytherins who threw them curious glances.

"So how did it go?" Remus asked his three friends when they reached the common room.

"Flawless," Sirius announced arrogantly.

"You should have been there Moony, we didn't even get caught!" James added.

"You might have spoken too soon," Peter warned. He was staring at the entrance to the common room.

Standing at the entrance was a very furious Professor McGonagall. "Evans, Potter, and Black, come with me now."

"She has no proof, don't worry about it," Sirius muttered to the other two.

Rachel, James, and Sirius followed the professor silently. Rachel was starting to feel a sense of dread. McGonagall led them to her office; seated inside were the two fifth year Slytherins they had seen earlier.

"Are these the three students you saw?" she asked the two girls.

Rachel turned her attention to them and saw their haughty expressions.

"Yes, this is them Professor," the one with long, blonde hair answered.

"It is, her ugly red hair isn't something I would forget," the other added with a smirk.

Rachel glared at them but said nothing. James and Sirius were the experts at getting out of things.

"Thank you ladies, you are dismissed."

"Professor, what is this about?" James asked innocently after the girls were gone.

"Do not play games with me Potter, you know exactly what you did."

"Professor, I know we have a bad reputation but it is an injustice if fingers are pointed at us for every prank done in this school," Sirius put in.

"And what gives you the impression that it is a prank we are speaking of?" McGonagall asked.

"Good one, Padfoot," James muttered to Sirius.

Sirius' quick wit saved them. "I don't know my dear Professor, but I reckon that must be it if you so readily accuse us."

"Your flattery and charms will not work with me Black. You three took things too far this time-"

"Aww come on Minnie, you know you love us." James gave her a huge smile while Sirius hugged her.

McGonagall's impatience got the best of her. "This is the last straw. I'm taking you to see the Headmaster!"

James and Rachel looked at each other with unease but Sirius seemed unfazed for he had just been hit with the most wonderful idea. A solution to the question he had been asking himself for so long. Professor Dumbledore was his answer; he just wondered why it took him so long to figure it out.

* * *

I hope you liked this chapter! There will only be either one or two left so it's almost over!

I always wondered why Snape went to the dark side. Obviously he was in Slytherin and that had a lot to do with it, but I wondered if there were any other reasons. What I wrote in that section would be my musings on it.

I have a feeling there was more I wanted to say but I can't remember, so that's it for now. Thanks to all the readers and double thanks to reviewers ;)


	25. In Dumbledore's Office

So this is the last chapter . . . sorry it took so long to post but I couldn't think of how I wanted to end it : /

* * *

Professor Dumbledore returned to his office after a brief discussion with Professor McGonagall. He walked around his desk and sat in his chair, facing James, Sirius, and Rachel. "Professor McGonagall has informed me of your actions. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?"

Rachel was relieved to see that he didn't appear upset. She rarely spoke to the headmaster, she doubted he even knew who she was, but she could see that he was a patient man and was grateful for it; hopefully they would get off easy.

"Well sir," James began with all his charm. "I would like to begin by saying that our 'actions' were completely harmless, we made sure of that before proceeding with our plans."

"James here is absolutely right Professor. Had we even suspected that any harm would come of this, we would have immediately called it off. As it were, nothing bad did happen, just as we expected. It was just good fun, sir," Sirius added. He too used his charm on the headmaster.

Rachel, again, kept silent. She loved pranks but was terrible at charming her way out of trouble. She used to leave it to Steven and Adam, and now it was up to James and Sirius. Unfortunately, Dumbledore was looking directly at her.

"Do you have anything to add, Ms. Evans?" he asked kindly.

She was slightly taken aback at the fact that he knew her name. "Er, not really, sir. It's just as they said, we meant no harm and I don't believe that any was done."

Sirius, who was sitting next to Rachel with her hand in his, gave her an encouraging smile.

Dumbledore sighed. "Though you are correct in your belief that no one was hurt, I cannot let this go without punishment. Your deeds, though entertaining at times," his eyes twinkled at this, "have worried other staff members. I must ask you three to mind your actions."

"Yes Professor," they answered.

"Thank you. Now for the consequences, I believe detention is in order. For a week and a half, the three of you will report here at eight every night and I will send you with whichever professor is in need of assistance. You will also turn in a roll of parchment, one as a group is fine, explaining the properties of garrotting gas and its dangers as well as the history of tar and feathering. I expect that on Saturday before your detention."

James, Sirius, and Rachel looked downcast. "Yes Professor."

"That is all. Thank you for your time and I will see you tonight at eight o'clock. You may now head to your next class which I believe is History of Magic."

"Thank you Professor," James and Rachel said as they stood to leave. Sirius, however, had not moved.

"Is there something I could help you with Mr. Black?"

"You two go on, I'll catch up," Sirius said to his friends who were standing irresolutely at the door.

At his urging, James and Rachel walked out the door.

"What was that?" Rachel mused.

"I'm sure he'll tell us later. Sirius wouldn't keep things from us," James said confidently.

"True. Too bad _we_ couldn't stay longer, History of Magic is insufferable!"

"Ah well, at least we missed a good twenty or thirty minutes of it."

"Padfoot, why are we going to detention early?" Rachel asked exasperatedly.

"I told you already, Dumbledore wants to talk to us," Sirius explained patiently.

"You said that, but what does he want to talk to us about?"

"You'll see in a minute, we're here already."

"Sugar quills," Sirius muttered.

The gargoyles moved aside and the couple made their way up to the headmaster's office.

"Come in," Dumbledore's voice called through the closed door before they had the chance to knock. "Take a seat."

"Thank you, Professor," Sirius said in his charming voice.

"Alas, here we are. The account you desire to know is lengthy and we should get started right away. Ms. Evans, you are under the impression that I did not know Natalia Sandoval very well, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir," she answered, curious as to where this was going.

"That is where you are mistaken. I knew her well, as I do most of the Head students. Natalia, however, was a somewhat special case. You may know some of what I will tell you, but I ask that you bear with me as I begin from the beginning.

"Natalia was born in Seville, Spain but moved to London with the Castillo family shortly after her parents' death. The Castillo's daughter, Melinda, and Natalia started Hogwarts the same year. They were sorted into Slytherin and Gryffindor, respectively, and thus grew apart. The girl's seventh year began and along with it came the responsibilities of the world they were close to entering.

"Natalia and Jared Stanton were quite an item by that time. However, life was cruel to the young couple and they were forced apart. Jared's parents, like the Castillos, were very adamant when it came to their pureblood beliefs. The two families arranged a marriage between Jared and Melinda; the former was miserable with the arrangement but had no choice but to follow through with it. Seventh year came to a close and the betrothed were married shortly after. Natalia, weary of the wizarding world, retired to the muggle life.

"She attended a muggle university, acquired a teaching degree, and took up that profession. That is where she met a man by the name of Richard Evans. I am not entirely familiar with the circumstances here. I do not know if Natalia was aware of Richard's wife and children, but I do know that she became impregnated with you, Ms. Evans. Whatever the case, Natalia was guilt-ridden about her relationship with Richard; though he told her he would leave his family for her, she could not allow him to do so. She felt it best that she leave, she had suffered much and caused suffering to an innocent family in turn. She needed a new beginning, and thus she moved to the United States.

"I'm sure you know most of the story from there, Ms. Evans. Your mother began a new life; she found a job and reared you in a wonderful home. What you are not aware of, however, is why she was murdered, because it was murder, have no doubt about it."

He paused at this point, as if pondering whether to continue. "I have asked myself if revealing this next piece of information is wise, and I have decided that it is necessary. However, I must insist that this stay between the three of us. I am afraid not even Mr. Potter can be informed of this, understood?" he asked, looking specifically at Sirius when he mentioned James.

"Yes, Professor," Sirius and Rachel answered.

"Very well, am I right to presume that both of you know who Voldemort is?"

"Yes, Professor," Rachel answered while Sirius nodded darkly.

"Then you are both aware of his rising power. These are dangerous times, and are becoming more so with every passing day. To combat Voldemort's advances, I created an organization which I call the Order of the Phoenix. All you need to know about it is that its members are in constant danger and that I recruited your mother about a year before her death."

"So she was killed on duty for this Order thing?" Rachel asked the headmaster.

"That is correct. She would travel here a couple of times a year for special meetings and assignments, but for the most part, she provided aid from abroad. I believe what happened is that Melinda discovered your mother's membership in the Order and decided to destroy the threat both to the Dark Lord and to her marriage. You see, she was well aware that her husband did not support her in her endeavors and that part of him still loved Natalia. She wanted no threat, either way. Unfortunately, it cannot be proved and even if it could, Voldemort and his Death Eaters are at large; they shan't be caught."

Rachel processed all of this information. She put the pieces together one by one and tried to understand. The truth was finally out, but it only left her with more questions. Why hadn't her mother ever told about this Order? Why hadn't she told her about Jared, Melinda, Hogwarts, anything about her past? Why hadn't she ever shared the existence of half sisters? Why hadn't she admitted to her affair? Did Mr. Jones know or was he engaged to a complete stranger? If Rick was willing to leave his family for her mother, why did he hate her so much?

"Sir, what exactly is the Order of the Phoenix?" Sirius asked.

Dumbledore smiled. "Curiosity is a dangerous thing, Mr. Black."

"Then it's a good thing I like danger," he smiled back.

"That you do, Sirius, that you do," Dumbledore said.

Rachel's head snapped up and Sirius looked at the headmaster oddly.

"I apologize, would you rather I use your surname?"

Sirius started. "No sir, not at all, it just surprised me. I prefer my first name actually. Anyhow sir, can you tell us what the Order is?"

"I apologize, I cannot. All I can let you know is that it is an effort to bring Voldemort to an end."

"It's okay then, I still want to know if I can join?" Sirius persisted.

Rachel spoke up at this. "Me too, sir. I would like to join."

"Alas, you two are such willing and able bodies. However, I cannot permit your membership, you are much too young, neither of you are even of age yet."

"But sir, I turn seventeen in three weeks, and Rachel's birthday isn't too far away."

"I apologize Sirius, but I refuse to endanger your lives at such a young age. Neither of you will even be out of school yet. You need to live life a little more."

"What life Professor? The Death Eaters killed my mother, and they're going to keep murdering people I love unless we stop them!"

"I agree with you Rachel, but let the older generation worry about that for now. Focus on school and if the threat is still around in a couple of years, you will be the first people I ask to join."

"P-"

"No," Dumbledore said sternly. "I have already said that I will not let you join and I apologize. Please understand my reasoning and accept it."

Rachel and Sirius sighed. "Yes, sir."

"Thank you, and now I suggest we end this discussion before Mr. Potter arrives. I thank you for your understanding."

"No, thank you Professor for revealing the truth," Rachel muttered.

She wasn't hurting anymore, she had grown strong enough to deal with the pain, and now her heart felt a little lighter, knowing the truth. She still had a question burning in her mind though, and she knew there was only one person who could give her the answers she sought.

"So Belle, now that this school year is over, how did you like Hogwarts?" James asked Rachel at dinner their last night.

"It was much better than I expected, but I've been thinking and I decided that I want you guys to use my real name now, either Rachel or Ray."

"Why?" Peter asked.

"It's time for a change; I'm going to stop focusing so much on my past and look to the future instead."

"If you insist," Sirius said, giving Rachel a small peck on the cheek.

They finished dinner and headed up to the common room. Rachel slept in her bed for the last time that year and the next morning she was on the train. She sighed, a little gloomy at having to leave Hogwarts and nervous for the confrontation she was going to have upon reaching the platform.

"What did you want to know?" Rick asked her gruffly.

They were standing off to the side of the platform having a quick discussion. Lily was waiting with the Potters and Sirius.

"Look, I don't want to be here any more than you do, but you're the only one with the answers I need."

"Get on with this then."

"Ah, just, I was told that you loved my mother, so why do you hate me?" she asked quickly.

Rick looked perplexed and shocked. After about five minutes, he answered. "I don't hate you, Rachel."

"Then why-"

"I suppose I was just bitter. Your mother had left me without any warning and she took you, my daughter-to-be, with her. Though she was right in leaving, she left me in pain. I heard nothing from her for fifteen years, and out of nowhere, I was informed that she died and named me guardian in her will. You arrived looking exactly like her, with the exception of your hair color, and it startled me. It brought back the pain she left me in. Everything about you reminded me of her, down to your sassy attitude with me. I couldn't stand it, and when I started drinking, things only got worse, I apologize."

He seemed genuinely sincere, and Rachel tried to forgive him best as she could, but she wasn't able to do it completely. "Sure, okay. Last question, why did she do it? She knew you were married, right?"

"Some things, Rachel, aren't so easy to understand. Don't walk away with a bad impression of your mother; instead, try to understand how she was feeling at the time. She had just been forced apart from her love and she left the only world she had known. She was broken, lonely, and afraid. She felt she had nothing left. Then I came along and comforted her, we became good friends and one night . . . it just happened. It wasn't planned nor was it an ongoing thing, it just happened. I'll admit that I was in love with her, I offered to leave my wife and two daughters for her and I feel terribly guilty about it, but I couldn't help it at the time. She made the right decision though; keep that in your memory."

"I guess. I know I said my last question was my last question, but I have one more. Did you know she was a witch when you met her?"

"No, I didn't find out until I found out about you."

"Oh, okay. Well thanks for your time, but I'd better get back to the Potters," Rachel said as she turned to find the Potters.

"Rachel, one last thing."

Rachel waited for him to go on.

"Again, I'm sorry, and I would really like it if you visited over the summer."

Rachel closed her eyes. "I'll talk to Lily and let you know when I'll be free." With that, she walked away.

"Let's get going dear, your plane leaves in a couple of hours and you still need to get home and pack," Mrs. Potter said once she saw Rachel.

Rachel was going to spend her first two weeks of the summer vacation with Steven and Adam. She was excited, yet the thought of being away from Sirius and the others wasn't so appealing.

"I'll see you later then Lily," Rachel said to her sister.

"Bye Ray, come back soon," Lily called.

"I'm going to miss you," Sirius whispered to Rachel who was wrapped in his arms.

They were at the airport, and Rachel was about to board her plane. She had already said her farewells to the Potters, only Sirius was left.

"Stop being silly, I'll only be gone two weeks!"

"It's still too long," Sirius muttered.

"I'll be back before you know it, just in time for your birthday," she whispered back.

"I love you Rachel."

"I love you too Sirius."

Sirius gave her kissed her before Rachel left to board her plane. Just before she was out of sight, she turned around to see her love one last time. Her heart was light, knowing she would be back to her new life in two weeks, but until then she needed to make peace with her past and start a new beginning.

* * *

**Like I said at the top, this is the last chapter. I don't completely like how I ended it but I couldn't think of anything better so here it is. Thanks for bearing with me through this whole thing, towards the end I was kind of over this story. Anyway, let me know what you think!**

**I really hope you liked this story, though it was pretty long. Thanks again for all the readers. And you reviewers are awesome!!**


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